Ranma : Careful Destiny
by Todd Hill
Summary: Ranma makes a wish that alters his life with unexpected consequences
1. Chapter 1

Tendo Nabiki Enterprises, Incorporated Presents:  
  
A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic  
side-story  
  
Careful Destiny  
Part One  
"Ground Zero"  
  
by:  
Todd Hill  
  
Based on:  
Be Careful What You Wish For...  
written by:  
Richard Beaubien  
  
Inspired by the "Ranma 1/2" Manga and Anime  
by Rumiko Takahashi  
  
  
A warm spring breeze blew through the streets of the Nerima district shopping center. Today, like every other Saturday, it was full of people looking for things to buy. Ranma Saotome was among the crowd of shoppers, going to pick up some green onions for Kasumi. He was approaching the grocer's shop when his attention suddenly was diverted by a little junk shop at the corner.  
  
Letting his curiosity get the better of him, Ranma approached the little junk store and grabbed the door handle hesitantly. Pushing on the handle, he entered the store. Melodic chimes hanging above the door rang out, announcing a new customer. As he walked into the store, he was immediately assailed by a strong odor of old books and musty furniture. His eyes swept about the place, inspecting the rows and corridors of items that crowded the store. Pictures of families from the fifties, and some pre-World War Two clothing and other relics littered the floor and walls in no discernible order. Ranma stepped over and around items and he wandered about the store, not sure if he'd find anything to suit his fancy.  
  
A vendor dressed in a sparkling white leisure suit looked up from his place behind the counter, and watched as Ranma disappeared behind a rack of old clothes, heading towards the back of the store. Unseen by Ranma, the vendor's eyes sparkled as his gaze fell on the young martial artist. 'Yes. This may be the one,' he thought to himself as he walked around the counter to meet his customer at the back of the store.  
  
Ranma hadn't found anything of interest, and was beginning to tire of the place. He turned around to leave when his hand bumped against an old table with catalogs and dusty music books sitting on top. Disinterestedly, he looked through the titles of the catalogs, noting the dates on the covers. He turned his attention to a stack of old manga sitting on one corner of the table, and was busily flipping through them when someone tapped him on the shoulder.  
  
"Yahhh!" Ranma yelled, startled by the quiet approach of the vendor. His startled jolt caused several of the manga to spill to the floor.  
  
Undisturbed by his outburst, the vendor smiled then bowed slightly. "Anything I can help you with, kind sir?"  
  
Ranma let his heart calm down before answering. He'd debated asking the vendor how he could've sneaked up behind him without him knowing, but decided against that since the vendor appeared too spacey to be an effective threat. He scratched his head, not really sure why he was in the store to begin with. "Ummm... well, I was really just looking ..."  
  
"... for a gift, perhaps?" the vendor completed. "For your girlfriend? We have plenty of those here," he said, gesturing to the walls and aisles of junk in the store.  
  
Ranma grimaced, not so sure that anyone would appreciate a gift from this store. "Well... not really. To tell you the truth, I don't even know why I came here," Ranma said distractedly. He began eyeing the distant doorway, seeing if he had a viable escape path should he need it.  
  
Adopting a sly smile, the vendor said, "Ahh! It must've been a magical attraction that brought you here, eh?" He chuckled slightly. "Say... You like magic young man?"  
  
The mention of magic had returned Ranma's attention to the rambling vendor in the seventies getup. He frowned at the guy's question. 'No, of course I don't like magic,' he stated to himself. After Jusenkyo, and all of the magical ambush plans by Shampoo and Cologne, he'd had his fill of magic. But instead of ranting about his life, he merely replied, "Naah. I've never really thought about it."  
  
Undeterred, the vendor continued his spiel. "Well, we have a few items here that are 'special,'" he said, gesturing to the glass cabinet beneath the counter.  
  
"Whattaya mean, *special?*" Ranma asked skeptically, his eyes narrowing. Anything *special* usually meant trouble for him.  
  
"Well, the whole lot of items in this cabinet are supposed to be magical," he said, waving his hands about the display in a way that would make Vanna White proud.  
  
Ranma couldn't help but ask. He didn't want to believe the vendor's claims, but something in his mind told him to listen. "Really? How can you tell?"  
  
The vendor shrugged. "I can't know for sure. I never really thought to try them out. But I do have a history on a few of them." Seeing Ranma's nod, he continued. "Well, this one," he indicated a parasol from a mixed drink, "supposedly causes rain if you put it into a Gin and Tonic while drinking it under a full moon." Ranma shuddered at the thought of rain. That little gadget wouldn't give him anything but trouble. Besides, he didn't drink.  
  
Seeing Ranma shudder, the vendor continued on to the next one, which happened to be a pair of ordinary plastic ear plugs. "This little gem is supposed to be man's best friend. Apparently, it doesn't block out all sounds. Instead it blocks out only the nagging voice of a girlfriend or wife. Great for arguments." Ranma nodded his agreement, smirking at the idea of peace and quiet. His mirth was short lived as he contemplated Akane discovering him using them and finding out what they were for. Besides, Akane tended to use her fists more than her mouth when she argued. He shook his head, and urged the vendor to continue.  
  
"And this," he said, pointing to a rather unremarkable brooch sitting in the middle of the display case, "is the prize of the collection."  
  
Ranma snorted laughter, pointing at the dusty item. "That old thing? You *must* be joking."  
  
The vendor oiled his voice, smelling a sale. "Ahh, but sir, that is no ordinary brooch. The original owner said that every fifty years, it will grant the owner two wishes."  
  
THAT got Ranma's attention. "Wishes? Really? I mean, you're kidding, right? It can really grant wishes!?" Ranma looked over his shoulders suddenly, not wanting anyone to hear what either he or the vendor were saying.  
  
"Yes, as I said, the previous owner said it can grant 2 wishes." He turned away from the display and looked at Ranma with a downcast expression on his face, trying hard to look disappointed. "But you said that you don't really believe in magic, so I guess that this brooch wouldn't be of any interest to you."  
  
Ranma caught the vendor's arm before he could walk away. "NONO! I mean... I *could* give it to my gir.. ahh.. a friend of mine," he said quickly.  
  
'Bingo!' thought the vendor as he took the item from the shelf. He handed it to Ranma, letting him feel it in his hands. Just as Ranma was getting comfortable holding it, the vendor took it away and replaced it in the cabinet. "Heyy..." Ranma yelled, indignant at having the item taken away.  
  
The vendor looked him square in the eye and said, "If you want it, it'll cost you 5000 yen."  
  
Ranma turned over the idea in his mind, grimacing at the cost. 5000 yen was a lot of money for an unemployed martial arts student. Kasumi had given him some money for the onions, and he had some on him from a rebate he got from Nabiki when she had given him bad information. Totaling it up, he had about 6000 yen on him. 'I hope Nabiki doesn't find out about this!' he thought as he fished the wad of coins and bills from his pants pocket. 'She'd hound me endlessly if she found out about this brooch.' He shuddered at the idea of a wishing brooch in Nabiki's hands. "I'll take it," he said, quickly handing the money over.  
  
'All too easy,' the vendor thought as he exchanged the money for the brooch. Ranma took it from the vendor's hands and pocketed it quickly, suddenly protective of the item. "Okay, now tell me how it works," he pressed once he made sure again that no-one was around.  
  
The vendor leaned forward over the counter, propping himself up on his elbows. "Well, it's really simple. Before you go to bed, make a wish and put the brooch under your pillow. In the morning your wish will come true." Ranma smiled. 'Finally! A chance to be rid of his curse, and walk around Nerima as a man among men. It's so easy!' he thought to himself, triumphant. 'Heck! If it doesn't work, I'll just give it to Akane, or something. I can't lose!' Ranma turned to leave the store when the vendor called out to him, "One word of warning, though. I suggest saving the second wish to undo the first one just in case the first one doesn't turn out the way you want."  
  
Ranma looked up as he opened the door, smiling. "Yeah, sure. I'll keep that in mind," he said as he exited the store.  
  
The vendor smiled at the closed door, watching the young martial artist walk down the sidewalk. He clapped himself on the knee in a celebratory fashion once Ranma was out of sight. "Yes, I'm sure you will, Ranma Saotome!" he said mirthfully, laughing deeply as if getting the punch-line to some cosmic joke. Then he snapped his fingers and vanished from the store.  
  
****  
  
  
Ranma had managed to pick up the green onions for Kasumi with what remaining money he'd had on him. He had to haggle with the vendor a bit before he bought the large basket of onions, and was proud of himself for doing it. Nabiki was usually the one to talk pricing, so he'd never really done it before. So he took his success with the grocer as a good omen that things would go well for him. He picked up his vegetable burden and dashed off for the Tendo dojo. He laid the basket of onions on the kitchen floor next to the eldest Tendo daughter, shouting, "HereyougoKasumi!" as he bolted for his room.  
  
Once upstairs, he crept into his room, making sure that neither Akane nor Nabiki was watching. He slid the door closed behind him, and sat on his mat, keeping an eye on the door at all times as he fished the arcane object from the junk store out of his pocket. 'A chance to be normal,' he thought, running his thumb across the rough surface of the cheap jewelry. 'If this *really* works, I can finally enjoy my life.'  
  
He smiled broadly, closing his eyes and imagining a life free of the curse. He gripped the brooch tightly in his hand, holding it to his chest while he daydreamed about what a good life he'd have after the wish.  
  
A small voice in the back of his mind raised an objection. He'd been living with the curse long enough that a part of him had grown used to being a woman on occasion. As much as he hated to think of it, if he kept the curse then he would have a unique perspective on life.  
  
He stopped dwelling on that point, angrily shoving all of it from his mind. How could he even think about keeping the damn curse?  
  
As far as he was concerned, his manhood and pride were at stake. He couldn't see far enough ahead to appreciate the benefits that he could reap from his unique condition. Instead, he only saw the assault on his masculinity that the curse represented.  
  
'But haven't you needed the girl's body before?' a part of him asked. 'Yeah, but I wouldn't have had half of the problems that led up to me needing my girl body if I wasn't cursed in the *first* place,' he shouted back at his conscience. Sure he'd exploited the babe factor of his female body when needed, but he'd always regretted doing it afterward, since the idea of acting female threatened to loosen the paranoid grip he kept on his masculinity.  
  
In short, Ranma was afraid that if he kept the curse much longer then he would start to enjoy being a girl. He would probably start behaving like one also, and finding guys attractive, etc...  
  
His features contorted in agony as he imagined himself *willingly* giggling like a girl, his hand clinging to some guy's arm. 'The sooner I'm rid of this curse, the sooner I can return to a normal life. I can't handle the weird changes that seem to be happening to me!' he decried. Ranma opened his eyes to gaze on the brooch once more. 'And if what that guy at the junk store told me was true, you have the power to fix my problems,' he thought as he turned it over in his hand absently.  
  
He smiled lightly, tucking the brooch in what he hoped was a secure place. 'I guess I'll find out tonight whether or not I'm really done with this curse for good.' He laughed through his nose as he imagined Akane's face when he told her tomorrow that he wasn't cursed anymore. 'Maybe she'll stop acting so angry,' he added hopefully as he stood up and walked out of his room.  
  
He headed back downstairs quickly, hoping that his extended absence didn't raise any suspicions among either his father or Nabiki. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, he knew that he had nothing to fear. He took his customary place on the porch outside and noted that his father and Mr. Tendo were playing their usual game of "Go."  
  
Meanwhile Nabiki was lounging on the floor and watching the TV with a passive interest. Akane was making her standard training noises in the dojo. He leaned back against the wall of the house and relaxed, enjoying the feeling of the late afternoon sun as it shone down on him.  
  
The remainder of the evening passed swiftly for Ranma. Eating dinner in silence, he'd managed to avoid giving away anything about the wish to anyone at the dinner table, and only fought once with Akane. 'We may finally be getting along,' he thought to himself as he looked over at her again.  
  
He smiled to her as their eyes met. As usual, though, she misunderstood the intention behind his friendly smile and frowned back at him. "What are *you* looking at?!" she shouted defensively, quickly averting her gaze from his. His smile quickly vanished and was replaced by the anger he usually felt whenever Akane did that. 'Then again, maybe not,' he thought sullenly.  
  
Looking about the room to get his mind off of Akane, he spotted the clock and noted how late it was. "I'm going to bed," he said softly, standing up and quietly making his way up the stairs.  
  
Akane couldn't miss the downcast tone in his voice, and realized that she had once more stepped over the line with her knee-jerk response. "Ranma..." she said hesitantly, holding her hand out to him. He didn't seem to hear her as he continued up the staircase until he was out of sight. She withdrew the hand and held it against her heart, cursing herself all the while for her hot temper. Although she'd die before admitting it to anyone in the room, she wanted nothing more at the moment than to run upstairs and have Ranma hold her while she apologized for all of the times she had hurt him.  
  
She made two hesitant attempts to get up and go after him, but something caused her to stop. Akane bigsweated as she felt every eye in the room lock onto her as if awaiting her next move. Stiffly she turned away from the staircase and faced the TV again. 'I'm sorry, Ranma,' she thought to herself sadly, pretending to watch the show.  
  
Barely hidden looks of disappointment from the audience burned into her back before turning away to watch the TV again. 'Someday we're going to have to stop behaving like idiots,' she promised. She winced as she heard the door to his room slam shut. 'Someday soon, Ranma...'  
  
****  
  
  
An hour later Ranma sat up in his futon, no longer pretending to be asleep. "Finally," he said in a hushed and slightly exasperated tone. It was late night at the Tendo dojo, and Ranma had counted until the last bedroom door had closed. The sound signaled that everyone was now in bed. He looked over his shoulder, making sure that Genma was already asleep. He nodded to himself, hearing the blissful snoring of his father as he slept in his panda form.  
  
Ranma felt sure that no one would catch him trying to use the brooch now. Standing up quietly from his sleeping mat, he walked over to where he hid the precious item. Taking care not to make any noise, he pulled it from its secret location and gripped it tightly with his hands. 'I sure hope this works,' he thought, closing his eyes.  
  
Any doubts he may have had were swept away the moment Akane had snapped at him. 'I can't believe she still calls me a pervert. Why...' He broke off the question, disgusted. 'Hell, it won't matter...' It was a moot point as far as he was concerned. He was very confident that the item in his hands would solve the problem. 'She'll finally respect me once I'm no longer cursed,' he told himself.  
  
'Goodbye curse,' he thought as he pulled the brooch to his chest. He swept away a sudden pang of regret that he felt at losing his female form, as he thought of the proper words to say for his wish. After a moment's contemplation, the words rushed into his head and he knew what he had to say. In a soft voice, Ranma said, "I wish I never became cursed with a girl's body."  
  
A rush of anticipation and excitement coursed through him as he said the words, and he felt a momentary jab of impatience. Not wanting to mess things up, Ranma decided on completing the wish instructions explicitly. So he placed the brooch underneath his pillow, curled up on his futon and went to sleep.  
  
****  
  
  
Morning broke in Nerima (smash! ^_^). Rays of sunlight peeked through the window and fell on the face of a blissfully sleeping and lightly snoring Ranma. The door slid open and someone poked their head in the room. "Ranma-chan, wake up!!!" the irritated female voice called out. A small frown emerged due to his lack of response.  
  
Ranma recognized the voice, but in his sleep-induced torpor he wasn't quite sure who was talking to him. Besides, he didn't know of anyone that would call him 'Ranma-chan' at the Tendo Dojo anyway. Too tired to think about it, he mentally shrugged his shoulders and assumed it was his kawaikunee iinazuke taunting him. Reluctant to give up the cozy sleep he was in, he turned over on his bed, mumbling, "...nnn... g'way Akane..." Soft snoring resumed shortly after that.  
  
A sigh could be heard in the distance, followed by the sound of a metallic rattling, causing Ranma to twitch occasionally. The clanking sound grew louder, then was suddenly replaced by a splash as a deluge of cold water hit Ranma in the face and cascaded down his body, leaving him very alert and shivering.. "I said GET UP!" a tart voice shouted at him from above. "Honestly! If you would at least get up on time I wouldn't have to do this every morning."  
  
A very angry Ranma shot back with, "That was cold!! Why did you do that?! I'll get you, you ..." His words trailed off as he realized in complete horror who it was he was talking to. Nodoka Saotome. His mother! She was in front of him, she knew who he was, and he was soaking wet with cold water! This wasn't good!  
  
"MOM?!?!?" he screamed, half hysterical. His hands were instantly a blur as he searched himself for signs of breasts or other incriminating female parts. But to his astonishment, he found that he was still a male.  
  
His face lost all expression. 'It wasn't a dream?! I'm truly not cursed anymore?!' Ranma jumped up, ran past his befuddled mother to the bathroom (once he could find it), and splashed himself repeatedly with cold water. After creating a small pool on the floor, and confirming that he was no longer cursed, he ran back into his room. 'My mother!' Ranma thought blissfully as he moved through the door to his room. 'I don't have to hide from her anymore!' With that he ran to Nodoka and hugged her tightly. "Oh Mom! I've missed you so much!" he said, happier than he'd been in years.  
  
"Dear, you must've had a bad dream. We were all together for supper just last night, as usual. Don't you remember?" Nodoka asked, puzzled. She didn't argue with the hug, and was only too willing to express her love for her only son. She stroked his head gently as he sagged in her embrace, let loose a very contented sigh, and rested his head on her shoulder.  
  
A couple of silent moments passed before he stood back from the hug and got himself under control. He grinned widely as he remembered his cold water experiment. He started dancing around the room, gleefully proclaiming, "I'm a MAN! YES! No more Jusenkyo!"  
  
A *very* confused Nodoka watched as her son skipped about the room doing high-fives with the wall and cheering wildly. Not understanding his behavior, she walked over and grabbed hold of his arm to stop his manic ranting. "Of course you're a man, Ranma. You've been one for as long as I've known you. Whatever gave you the idea that you weren't? And what's this jusu-whatsis thing you mentioned?"  
  
His paused in his celebration while he tried to figure out why she asked that question. 'Duh! Of course!' he thought an instant later. 'She never knew about the curse, or the training grounds of Jusenkyo.' Waving a hand at her, he casually replied, "Ah, it's nothin' Mom! Just a weird dream."  
  
She let it drop, although the look she gave him clearly stated that she didn't quite believe that it was 'nothing.' "Well, whatever Ranma. You'd better get dressed soon. It's almost time for school, and you don't want to be late again. Breakfast will be waiting for you downstairs, so hurry up and get ready," she chided as she walked out of his room.  
  
'Wow! Looks like the brooch really worked! I'm no longer cursed...' He stopped wondering and looked around his room, trying to get a feel for where he was. 'I don't know what's going on here. Mom says that she and I had dinner together last night, which is crazy. Also, she acts like we've been together for awhile. The wish got rid of my curse, but it did it in a weird way.' He made another slow pan around his room, which looked much nicer than where he'd laid his head just the night before. 'This is *not* the Tendo home. In fact, I have no idea where I am.' He scratched his head, unable to understand why he wasn't at home with everyone else.  
  
The change in location had brought forth-another concern. 'I wonder if it's here...' Ranma looked under his pillow, and to his satisfaction saw that the brooch had made the trip with him. Taking it out from under his pillow, he hid it underneath his dresser while making sure he wasn't being watched.  
  
His stomach growled, reminding him that breakfast was awaiting him downstairs. Not one to argue with his appetite, he stood away from the dresser and walked over to his closet. Opening the closet revealed a host of dark pants and T-shirts, along with five sets of men's school uniforms. Then his gaze swept past something he'd never expect to see in his closet.  
  
'A leather jacket?!' he thought incredulously. Turning the expensive biker's jacket over in his hands, he saw English writing on the back, but couldn't read past the "Harley-Davidson" emblem. Grimacing at the selection (or lack thereof, depending on one's perspective) of clothing, he turned back to his dresser, hoping the outcome would be better. After rummaging through the drawers for a couple of moments, he sighed in relief when he found what he wanted to wear. Smiling, he pulled out a Chinese outfit similar to what he usually wore, consisting of an expensive-looking red shirt and black pants. Glad that he wasn't going to be wearing that damned school uniform, he put his clothes on with gusto.  
  
Once dressed, he looked out his bedroom window. 'If I'm not at the Tendo hall, then I wonder where Akane is...' His unspoken question was quickly drowned out by the voice of his mother as he heard her calling him down to the breakfast table. He shrugged his shoulders and figured that work on it later.  
  
****  
  
  
Trying hard not to look like he was gawking, Ranma slowly panned his gaze across the richly furnished house. He liked the look, but thought that it was a bit much for a family of martial artists. 'Not that I'm complaining,' he was quick to add. Indeed, this is the kind of house that he'd dreamed of living in for many years. 'Pop must be doing fairly well to be able to afford this getup,' he thought in admiration. He leveled his gaze on the table again as Nodoka sat a tray of food down in front of him, smiling warmly. "Eat up dear. You don't have much time."  
  
'God! This is so real!' Ranma thought, spellbound, as he wolfed down the food Nodoka sat in front of him. 'This stuff tastes better than Kasumi's,' he noted in-between gulps. He slowed his eating so he could savor the taste. He'd told his Pop several times in the past about how much he'd enjoy getting a home cooked meal from his Mom, and he was right. 'Not that Kasumi's cooking isn't good, but this just tastes better to me.' He resumed his high-speed dining, feeling the pressure of time. He had a lot to do, and showing the new Ranma off to Akane was at the top of his list.  
  
But as he ate, little nagging questions kept popping into his head. Something that came to mind was his lack of morning exertion. 'I wonder why Pop didn't wake me up for our morning practice?' Ranma finished eating and laid his empty bowl and chopsticks down on the tray. "Mom?" he yelled out towards the kitchen  
  
"Yes dear?" Nodoka returned.  
  
"Where's Pop?"  
  
"Out doing his morning training with Ranko before he goes to work. Where else would they be this time of the day?" With a puzzled look on her face, Nodoka emerged from the kitchen and walked to the table. With a mother's usual concern, she knelt down and put her hand on his head. "Are you sure you're okay, Ranma-chan? You know, you're acting awfully strange. Maybe you should stay home from school today and have your sister get your assignments for you."  
  
Ranma was too stunned to respond to Nodoka's suggestion. He couldn't believe that he had a sister! He was also taken aback by the idea that his father actually *worked* for a living. He *blink-blinked* several times in confusion before realizing that he'd taken too long to answer his mother. He ignored his shock and struggled to remember what it was she'd said to him. "No, Mom. That's okay. I'll be fine," he finally said.  
  
"My son, not wanting to stay home from school? You *must* be sick, dear," she said mirthfully.  
  
"MOOOOM!" Ranma said, flushing red with embarrassment.  
  
"Calm down! I was just kidding, dear," she said, putting a hand on his shoulder and squeezing lightly. Her eyes widened in pleasant surprise as she noted the empty bowl. "Well, you must've been hungry today. I guess you enjoyed your breakfast?"  
  
"Yeah, it was good," Ranma replied as cheerily as he could.  
  
Nodoka smiled as she glanced at her son. "Ah! I'm glad to see that you're wearing the outfit I gave you last year. I had begun to think that I'd wasted my money on it."  
  
"Well..." he replied, uncomfortably. He was going to have to watch himself around his mother. She had an attention to detail similar to Nabiki's, and unless he was careful he would wind up getting into a lot of trouble. He looked over at the wall clock and gasped. 'Dammit, I'm going to be late!'  
  
Scrambling to his feet, he dashed over to the door stand. "Well, I'm off to school," he said as he put on what he assumed were his shoes.  
  
Nodoka stood next to him to see him off, holding his bento box in her hands. She gave it and his books to him, saying, "Okay dear. Here's your lunch." She kissed him on the forehead as he grabbed his stuff, and then watched the dust cloud disappear into the distance as he ran for school. 'That's odd. I've never seen him run on fence-tops before,' she thought as she watched him disappear into the distance.  
  
****  
  
  
Less than two minutes into his run for school, Ranma had to slow to a walk and collect himself. He wasn't feeling normal. During his run from 'home' he'd noticed a couple of odd things. One, he was unusually winded from his run, almost as if he hadn't run in ages. Two, he had to stick to running on the ground, as he had fallen thrice from fence railings after losing his balance.  
  
He resumed running after pacing himself more carefully, although he wasn't really sure where he was going. He didn't see anything that he recognized until he happened upon the Tendo Dojo a few minutes later. 'Good,' he thought brightly, happy to finally see something familiar. 'I'll be able to walk Akane to school. She'll really flip when she gets a load...'  
  
His train of thought derailed at the sight of a limousine pulling up to the front gates of the Tendo estate. 'Huh? A Limousine? Ahh! It must be for Nabiki,' he thought, dismissing it until he saw who stepped out.  
  
A very smug and austere looking Kuno emerged and walked to the gates, calling out, "Akane-chan, time to go to school!" After a couple of minutes, the gates opened and a somewhat depressed Akane came into view. Ranma took one step back, completely confused. He couldn't tell what was going on. Akane let loose a tired sigh, replying simply, "Coming dear."  
  
'Coming dear?!?' Ranma tossed that one over in his head for a moment. Anger rising quickly in him, he stomped over to Kuno. "Hey!! You jerk! Whattaya think you're doing!?!" he yelled, jerking the kendoist around by his sleeve.  
  
Kuno regarded Ranma as one would a household cockroach. "Who are you, sniveling commoner, to be addressing the great Tatewaki Kuno in such an insolent manner?" He gripped Ranma's hand firmly and yanked it from his sleeve with great distaste. Before Ranma could say anything, Kuno held up his other hand to stop any response. "Ahh, but it is not important that I know who you are. And for your information, I am here to pick up my fiancee for school. Now leave us, you insouciant miscreant!!"  
  
Ranma stared open mouthed at Kuno, not believing what he was hearing. 'When did Kuno get the balls to talk to me that way?' he thought, when something else clicked. "Fiancee?! How *dare* you claim such a thing about Akane?! She's *my* fiancee!" he shouted. He was absolutely livid, and Kuno's audacity only made him angrier. Sure that idiot had proclaimed his lust for Akane before, but this was going too far! He approached the kendoist menacingly, his hands flexing in preparation for battle.  
  
Through it all, Akane could only gasp in shock. She looked from one man to the other in silence, and wondered what was happening. Ranma's proclamation of marriage stunned her, and she suddenly found a bit of worry mixing with her standard dose of depression.  
  
"You'll take her over my dead body!!" Ranma thundered, balling his hands into fists and looking as if he was going to self-combust at any moment and take out the whole block.  
  
"That can be arranged, simpleton," Kuno replied, sighing as if dreading a household chore.  
  
"What's going on Kuno-chan?" Akane asked nervously. She had an idea about what was going to happen, but she wasn't sure whether to stop the two, or let this guy take a shot at Kuno. She turned to Kuno, awaiting a response.  
  
"Just get in the car, Akane," Kuno commanded grandly. "He's just another fool who thinks he's worthy of your love. But fear not, my dearest *wife*," Kuno emphasized the word, looking right at Ranma as he said it. "I'll dispose of this wretch quickly. He won't be bothering us again."  
  
Akane disappeared inside the limousine shaking her head in disgust and muttering "Oh, brother!" just within earshot of the two.  
  
"I'll make you suffer months for this, Kuno!" he said as he got into a fighting stance. "No-one else on this planet has the right to call Akane his wife, you arrogant bastard! Your mouth is saying things that your ass won't be able to cover."  
  
Ignoring Ranma's anger, Kuno favored him with a confident smile. "You may address me as Upperclassman Kuno. You have no right to call me by any other name," he instructed calmly. "And as for calling someone arrogant, I would say that you are such. But enough! Name-calling is beneath me, as are you. Prepare yourself, for the heavens are about to decry my righteous claim to the fair Akane Tendo." He raised his bokken, pointing it in Ranma's direction.  
  
Too angry to respond to Kuno's blathering any longer, Ranma twisted his hips slightly and launched into a jump kick.  
  
What happened next shouldn't have.  
  
Ranma fully expected to connect with Kuno's face and tap dance all over it, since that was what usually happened whenever they fought. However, something in his body didn't seem to be responding properly because the Kendo champion deftly blocked the unsure kick.  
  
Shaking his head sadly, Kuno looked at Ranma with pity. "You really must think too highly of yourself if you believe that such sloppy footwork will gain you victory, knave! That attack was pathetic!!"  
  
Ranma panicked slightly. 'Kuno shouldn't have been able to touch that kick. What the hell's happened to me? Was the move telegraphed or something?' He didn't get a chance to think any further on the subject as Kuno's stance changed. "Now know the true meaning of pain, mongrel! Shi-ne!!" he yelled, lashing out with his bokken.  
  
Ranma barely managed to dodge the initial attack, and noticed that he was very slow to react to the strike. It was as if his mind knew what to do, but his body wasn't coordinated enough to perform the moves. And that lack of coordination was beginning to tell as Kuno's attacks gained in intensity. Kuno grinned inwardly, sure of his victory, as he yelled, "STRIKE! STRIKE! STRIKE! STRIKE! STRIKE! STRIKE! STRIKE!" with every thrust. His movements increased in frequency to the point where they were a blur. Ranma was no longer able to combat the force of Kuno's multiple sword strokes and was thrown into the wall, where he lost consciousness.  
  
"Let us go, Akane," Kuno proclaimed as he entered the limousine, leaving a knocked out Ranma lying in the garbage across from the Tendo Hall.  
  
****  
  
  
Ranma's head was spinning and his body was aching. The pain was reminiscent of some of the more intense fights he'd had with Akane. But he didn't recall fighting her recently, and chalked his confusion up to his fuzzy mind. He finally decided that he was dreaming. 'Yeah, that has to be it...'  
  
But he disagreed with that thought a moment later. He had to have lost a fight to someone. How else could he explain the pain he felt? He knew that he hadn't seen Ukyou, Shampoo, or even Ryouga today, so who did this to him? Slowly his mind became aware of an annoying smell. Wrinkling his nose, he moved his head away from it, only to encounter more of the same. He brought a hand to his face, but jerked it away quickly. He coughed at the terrible smell, trying not to gag. Wherever he was, it stunk viciously.  
  
He slowly opened his eyes, the bright sunlight overwhelming his field of vision and causing a stabbing pain to hit him in the back of the eyes. Shielding his eyes with a distant hand, he slowly grew accustomed to the light, and the pain subsided. Once he was able to see, he opened his eyes fully.  
  
Looking up, his eyes met with those of a young and pretty dark-haired girl. She was standing over him, snapping her fingers in front of his face, trying to get his attention. He blinked a couple of times to clear away some of the blurriness. Taking a better look at his surroundings, he saw that he was ass high in a trash pile.  
  
Directly across from the trash pile he could see the gates of the Tendo hall. 'Yup, Akane and I must've had another argument.' His hands found stable supports in the garbage, and tried to sit up, only to lurch drunkenly and stumble face-first back into the refuse. He settled for moving into a sitting position, although his body protested painfully with every movement.  
  
"Hey bro, wake up!! What the hell are you doing lying in a trash heap? Idiot!" She knelt down to look at his face. "Geez! If I didn't know any better, Ranma, I'd swear you were in a fight. In fact, you look like shit."  
  
The girl's frankness grated on him, but it helped Ranma's mind to clear a little more. He could now remember snippets of what had happened, but the whole picture still eluded him. He gave a start as the young lady's words caught up to him. 'She's my *sister*?! Oh, boy...' He looked at her closely, and couldn't believe his eyes. To his shock Ranma saw that she looked exactly like him. Whenever he was hit with cold water that is. 'Yeah, a lifetime ago,' he added sourly.  
  
It was as if he was looking into some sort of special mirror. The only differences between the girl standing in front of him and 'his Ranko' was that she had dark hair, instead of red, and she was wearing the customary Furinkan High School uniform. And even though it was a school uniform, it still managed to do wonders for her figure. And to top it all off, he saw that she had her hair in a pig-tail. 'This day is getting too strange!' he thought as he stood up in the rubbish.  
  
"It looks like you were hit pretty hard," Ranko commented, fingering the Ranma-shaped depression in the wall. "How'd this happen?"  
  
The question triggered his memory and the fight flooded back into his mind with absolute clarity. "What the hell?!? NO WAY! I lost to that idiot, Kuno!!" he shouted, incredulous.  
  
"Ranma?! You challenged Kuno?" she yelled back, clapping her hand against her forehead and groaning in disgust. "Whatever possessed you to do something that stupid? Don't you realize that he's the best fighter at Furinkan High?"  
  
"Yeah, and I lost!!!" he spluttered, not paying attention to what he was saying. 'How could I have lost to Kuno?! That's *impossible!*'  
  
"Well of course you lost! You should have known better than to challenge an expert martial artist when you don't know any martial arts yourself," she said tartly, hands on her hips.  
  
Ranma stood stock still, not wanting to believe what his sister just told him. "What did you just say?" he asked, hoping he heard her wrong.  
  
"I said ..."  
  
"... I don't know martial arts?" he completed slowly.  
  
"Yeah, you haven't trained a day in over 10 years," she replied matter-of-factly. She stood back as Ranma stepped away from the garbage heap he was still standing in.  
  
"What!?! This can't be! How..." Ranma made a sudden decision and took Ranko's hand in his. "Come with me, now!" he said in an eerie monotone.  
  
"Hey, what!? Lemme go!" she said as she was dragged away, forced to follow her brother to wherever he was going.  
  
****  
  
  
He had to get away. His mind was a mess of confusion and uncertainty concerning his own life, and he didn't want to deal with Akane and Kuno right now. Sticking around her place would only serve to remind him of what just happened, so he decided to deal with them later. Right now, he had some questions about himself he wanted answered, and decided that talking in the park would be better for questioning his sister. They were a blur as he dragged his sister behind him towards the park. Once there, he found a bench and sat down, pulling her down with him.  
  
Winded and holding a hand against her chest, she squirmed in an effort to seat herself comfortably. She had never seen her brother behave like this before, and didn't try to hide her confusion. "What's the big idea, bro? I mean, I don't mind missing class and all, but..."  
  
Ranma held up his hands to quiet her. Looking her straight in the eye, he plunged ahead. "Sis, humor me for a moment, please. I know this question's coming out of left field, but I need an answer..." His look became desperate. "Please tell me what's going on," he said, almost pleading.  
  
Ranko's face broke out in the beginnings of shocked laughter, but she managed to contain herself. Seeing that he wasn't kidding, her humor disappeared, and was replaced by concern and even a little anger. "What!? Boy, Kuno must've hit you harder than I thought... Just what the hell kind of question is that, anyway?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. Leaning forward a bit, she stared right at her brother.  
  
Ranma wrung his hands, awaiting an answer from her. Her intense staring wasn't helping him to calm down any. "Just tell me, please! I need to know about my life!" he finally shouted out in desperation.  
  
"Well, the easy answer to that is that you don't have a life," she finally said, smiling wickedly.  
  
Ranma's face flushed in anger, causing her to push back in shock. "RANKO! Dammit! That's not what I was talking about!" he yelled, frustration fueling his volume. "I want you to tell me about my past! Why the hell don't I know any martial arts?"  
  
"Okay, okay!" she said, holding her hands up to ward him off. 'Christ, he's really serious about this. I wonder if Kuno really hurt him...' Seeing his face turn purple, she wiped the grin off of her face and regarded him seriously. "Whatever ..." she said as she sat back on the bench, putting a finger against her lips in apparent concentration. "Well, here's what I remember from the stories Mom and Pop told me. You were Mom and Pop's first kid. So Pop started to train you early on so you could carry on the Saotome School of Martial Arts. When you were really young, he wanted to take you on a training journey. Mom refused to let him take you unless you wanted to go. When Pop asked you if you wanted to go, you said you wanted to stay at home."  
  
Ranma nodded to himself. 'So that explains why I'm not cursed, but not why I don't know martial arts.' He turned back to listen to his sister.  
  
"After that day Pop refused to train you any further, saying that you weren't a real martial artist. When that happened he started to train me to carry on the Saotome School of Martial Arts in place of you." She looked into her brother's eyes, "You were always okay about this before. What's happened to you, man?"  
  
Ranma couldn't answer. He was too shocked to say anything. It was unconscionable for him to think that his father would abandon him simply because he wouldn't go on one of those damned trips. 'My life was changed because of a decision that I made when I was less than five years old!' He felt very hollow, and quite vulnerable. 'I may have lost more than I have gained by getting rid of the curse...'  
  
Ranko waved her hands in front of Ranma's eyes. "Hey, you want me to continue?"  
  
Ranma started as he realized something. 'Waitaminute! I can relearn Martial arts... I remember all of the forms and techniques, so I do still have it in me!' Some of his desperation fled as he thought about this. 'As long as I can retrain myself to use martial arts, I can win Akane's heart! Yeah! If that's the only problem with this world, then it could be better than the one I came from!' Ranma's mind returned to the present as his eyes focused on Ranko, which were flashing with impatience. Quickly, he grabbed his sister's hands and held them close to his chest. Looking into her eyes, he asked, "Hey Ranko! Do you think you can train me?"  
  
Ranko turned red at the question. "Why should I teach you anything at all?" she snapped back at him. Ranma recoiled at the unexpected anger in her voice. "You hate martial arts, Ranma! Stop joking about it! And you know I hate it when you rag on me about being a fighter!"  
  
Ranma released her hands and looked at her aghast. "Ranko, I'd never tease you about that!"  
  
"Kuno must've knocked your memory outta whack when he hit you. Either that or you're being a damned smartass." She didn't try to hide her bitter look. But despite her anger, a part of her couldn't help but believe him. Ranma's sincerity was too hard to dismiss as mere acting.  
  
"Ranko, I'm serious about this! I want... no I *need* to learn martial arts. Please tell me you'll help!" He squeezed her hands lightly, hoping to sway her.  
  
She glared at her brother for a moment, then relented. "Well, if you're really serious about this, I guess I can try. What's the sudden interest, Ranma?"  
  
"Let's just say that I have some things to work out. I really appreciate this, Sis!," he said, standing up. To himself he added, 'Great! Just you wait Akane! I'll put things back to normal and I won't have that curse to make my life miserable!! Then we can have the life that we were meant to have!'  
  
Meanwhile Ranko looked over at her brother, smirking. 'I'll see just how much you appreciate my lessons after our first day's over, Ranma.' She looked at her brother, who was the very definition of determination at that moment. 'Maybe Kuno managed to knock some sense into big brother during that fight. Ranma may finally be coming around...'  
  
****  
  
  
Once they finished talking, Ranma and Ranko decided to haul ass to school, even though they were both horribly late. Ranma had originally protested Ranko's suggestion about going until she said, "If Mom finds out we cut school, she'll kill us both!" Ranma bowed to his sister's excellent logic and followed her to Furinkan High. When they arrived, he groaned in disgust. Their teachers made them stand in the hall for an hour, pails of water in hand, because they missed their first classes.  
  
Once he'd arrived in his classroom, he saw that Akane was in his class. He'd brightened slightly when he first saw her. During one of the breaks he was about to go over to her desk and talk to her, that was until he noted that she wasn't returning his gaze. In fact, if he had known any better, he would've sworn that she was deliberately ignoring him. The shock of that was enough to stagger him.  
  
He sat quietly for the remainder of class, a stony look on his face. 'She really doesn't know who I am!' he thought, stealing glances at her from his position in an effort to catalog all of the things that were different about her. She was sporting long hair, like she had when he had first met her, previously met her, '... whatever,' he thought disgustedly.  
  
She also had a deep-seated look of depression, as if those lips of hers had forgotten what it was like to smile. It made what was a normally cute face bend into something that was quite sad to look at. With each passing moment, Ranma felt ever more frustrated at the turn of events his wish had wrought. The bell rang, breaking him from his thoughts and signifying the end of the class. He took one last look at Akane as she stood and walked from the classroom, and felt his heart tear when she didn't even turn his way.  
  
Lunchtime had been right after that, and he ate his meal without even tasting it. A few people that he didn't really know had come over to him and tried to chat him up, but Ranma wasn't paying attention to anything but his churning mind. 'Man, what the hell am I going to do now? I have a sister who doesn't like me. Akane doesn't even want to talk to me. Kuno managed to pull a miracle out of his ass and beat me in combat.' His eyes scanned the outside, as he noted the many students who were wolfing down their lunches amidst the springtime sunshine. 'None of the people that I know from here have even talked to me. It's like I'm going to be starting all over again.'  
  
He packed his empty bento away, and reclined against the trunk of a tree. 'I hope that Ranko'll be able to re-train me. Otherwise I'll have to use that other wish to reverse this one. There's no *way* I'm gonna live without martial arts.' He clenched his fists. 'But at least that damned curse is gone,' he thought, taking some heart in that. Ranma felt that as long as he was able to re-learn Anything Goes, he'd be able to deal with the rest.  
  
'I gotta figure out what the hell has happened to Akane. Her being engaged to Kuno was the last thing that I would've ever expected from her.' He shook his head in disbelief. 'Must've been something pretty bad...'  
  
His mind changed tracks, as he thought of the new sibling that he'd suddenly inherited. 'I have a sister.' He smiled slightly. He'd always wanted to have a brother or sister. 'But she's pissed at me for some reason... If I'm gonna have any peace at 'home', I'll have to find out why she's so mad at me and fix it.' The ringing of the clock ended the lunch period, and students scrambled to pick up their things and head in for their next class.  
  
The rest of school had been the usual drag, but with the added agony of watching Akane ignore him for the rest of the day. Ranma's disdain for school had apparently not changed when he made that wish. By the end of school he had amassed a copious amount of chalk dust in his hair from well-aimed erasers thrown at him for failing to pay attention. Somehow, though, he had managed to survive to the end of the day.  
  
The final straw for Ranma came when he saw Kuno fawning over Akane as they left the school together. The jerk placed his arm across her shoulders as they left the grounds and made for his limousine. Noticeably depressed, Ranma heaved a sigh and started walking from the school building when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned his head and saw his sister walking behind him. "Hey, you alive in there bro?" she quipped as she advanced to walk beside him.  
  
Ranma forced himself to smile slightly. Ranko took a look at her brother and laughed out loud. Reaching her hand up, she brushed at the front of his head and dislodged a minor snowdrift's worth of chalk dust from his hair. He sneezed as some of the dust entered his nose. "Didja fall asleep in class again, Ranma?" she asked, chuckling slightly and clapped repeatedly to rid her hands of some of the chalk dust that had clung to them.  
  
"Something like that," Ranma replied absently. He felt the depression begin to creep up on him again, and sighed softly. 'Dammit, I hate feeling like this!' he shouted internally. 'How can I get rid of this depression?' He brightened as an idea came to him. He turned to look at his sister. "Umm, Sis?"  
  
"Yeah, what's up Ranma?" she asked as she continued to walk.  
  
"You know that agreement we made in the park today? You know, about training me?" he asked quickly. Ranko nodded her head. "Well, do you think we can start today?" he asked, a hopeful tone in his voice.  
  
She turned to her brother. "Yeah, I guess I can do that. What say we get suited up after I finish my homework and we'll work out in dad's training hall. He should still be at work then."  
  
"Great!" Ranma replied, glad for the distraction. 'A workout may be just the thing to cure the blues,' he thought as he followed his sister home.  
  
****  
  
  
Ranma frowned at the gi he was wearing. He again resisted the temptation to take it off, and stood there with a slightly embarrassed look on his face. His sister's giggling wasn't helping matters any. He eyed her dangerously, trying to shut her up. "You can cut that out anytime you want, Ranko," he said angrily. Since Ranma's 'other self' had never taken to martial arts, he didn't have a gi of his own. But since he and Ranko were close to the same size, she had loaned him one of her older spares.  
  
He hadn't paid attention while putting it on. It didn't fit all that well. The pants were a little small, and they were a little uncomfortable around the hips. The top was the killer, however. It fit fine, but it looked bad on Ranma. After all, how macho can a guy be when he's wearing a pink gi with 'Hello Kitty' patches sewn on the back?  
  
Ranko was nearly hysterical, pointing at Ranma and gasping for air in-between gales of laughter. He growled irritably at her, cutting through her laughter and calming her down. "I'm sorry, bro. I guess I forgot that Mom had sewn on those patches. I haven't used that gi for awhile. We can fix that after we get through practicing," she commiserated.  
  
'Sure you forgot, Sis,' Ranma thought, allowing his ire to dissipate slowly. He assumed a ready stance in the middle of the training hall. It was a bit smaller than Mr. Tendo's dojo, he noted, but it served its purpose.  
  
After stretching for a few minutes, Ranko faced him. "Okay, Ranma. I'm gonna assume that you've never had any training before." He nodded slowly, deciding during school today that he didn't want to give away anything about his past, for the moment at least. "That being the case, we'll start with some basic moves," she said, adopting a teacher's stance. "Ranma, I'll be honest and tell you from the beginning that I haven't ever trained anyone before, so I'm playing it by ear."  
  
Ranma looked at her squarely, saying, "That's okay Ranko. I have faith in you."  
  
She breathed deeply, and exhaled slowly. "Okay Ranma, let's start with defense. I want you to try and block my kick, okay?" he nodded, and she launched into a simple kick that he blocked deftly. She eyed her brother strangely, "Ranma, you sure you've never had training before?"  
  
His eyes widened as he realized that he wouldn't be able to hide some aspects of his training. Scrambling to find an excuse, it took a few seconds before he could come up with something. "I guess it's from watching a lot of kung-fu movies," he suggested, smiling weakly.  
  
Ranko's skeptical glance didn't quite leave her face. "Uhh, yeah... right. Well anyway, I'm going to see just how much you do know. Watch out, I'm gonna start picking up my speed. Let me know when you want me to stop."  
  
Ranma nodded without saying anything further. Ranko resumed her attack stance again and launched a fusillade of faster and slightly more complex kicks. He managed to block most of them, but the strain was becoming evident as he struggled to keep up with his sister's pace.  
  
Ranko, meanwhile, was getting frustrated that all of her kicks so far had not connected to any real effect. Granted they were kicks that any martial artist with a year's training could block, but her brother wasn't supposed to know martial arts at all. She frowned inwardly, her frustration having mounted to the point where she decided to up the stakes a bit. She struck with a kick, hardly holding anything back, and scored a direct hit to the chest. This time Ranma couldn't block it, and was knocked on his butt on the mats.  
  
Ranko was immediately on her knees next to her brother, apologetic. "Ranma, I'm sorry. Man, I should've been watching what I was doing." He was sucking in air, and grasping at his ribs where she had tagged him.  
  
He regarded her with a determined look, raising his hands to cut off her apology. "Hey, Sis! It's cool. Don't worry about it. I should've seen it coming," he replied calmly. She stood back, allowing him to come to his feet.  
  
"Well, you seem to have some knowledge of defense," Ranko observed. She couldn't stifle the bit of anger she felt. 'I worked my ass off for years to get where I am, and now he comes along out of nowhere and in one day he's already well beyond a beginning student. He'd better have had training elsewhere...' she thought bitterly. She then swept her jealous anger from her mind, and concentrated instead on instructing her brother. "I think what you need to do is practice some more. You've got good form, but your actions are a little sloppy. Let me try something else on you and see how well you do."  
  
Ranma nodded and regained his ready stance on the mats. Ranko launched a simple punch at him, which he easily avoided. Seeing how ineffective the punch was, she threw a series of faster arm and fist movements at him. Most of them he was able to dodge with little effort. But as her tempo increased, he was finding it harder to block them.  
  
He swore to himself as he was tagged on the face with an elbow. Every strike was forcing him to push himself harder to try to keep his sister's swift punches at bay. The blows he took were also helping him to get some idea of how far out of shape his 'new self' was. Problems aside, he had to admit that while the 'other Ranma' didn't exercise, he had at least kept a modicum of fitness. Judging from the way he was performing at the moment, he figured he had three weeks, maybe two if he pushed it, before he was fighting close to par again.  
  
Something else that was being drummed home to him with every landed punch was that a girl was wiping the floor with him. He couldn't understand why, even though she was his sister, he was getting such punishment from a girl. 'Even Akane wasn't this relentless,' he thought before taking a fist on the chest. 'But then again, I did ask for this...' Thinking of his training reminded him of what his goal was; to regain his old form. The idea of getting back in shape energized him, helping him to renew his defense as he pushed himself harder.  
  
As he blocked her incoming fists, he couldn't help but respect his little sister. With all of he punishment he'd endured this session, it was easy for him to tell that she was one hell of a martial artist. He found himself smirking at that, a small level of pride working its way through him as they sparred.  
  
Ranko noted the grin on her brother's face, and allowed a slightly ugly grin on her own. 'Ranma's definitely got potential, but he's getting cocky if he's going to grin like he's not getting a challenge. Well, I guess I'll have to re-educate him,' she thought as she allowed a full strength punch to fly. Caught unawares in his reverie, the punch tagged Ranma square in the chest, and down he went.  
  
This time Ranko held her position instead of running to help him. Ranma groaned as the pain stabbed at him, causing him to clutch his hands tightly to his chest by reflex. Gritting his teeth, he slowly worked himself into a sitting position on the mat, staring up at his sister.  
  
"Ouch! I guess I deserved that one, Sis. Sorry I wasn't paying attention there," he said with the beginnings a smile. 'Correction,' he told himself. 'She's an *excellent* martial artist.'  
  
Ranko smirked and said, "That's better. Don't ignore your teacher. That's what we call a *bad idea.*" She put her hand out for her brother. He reached up and took his sister's proffered hand, chuckling in spite of the pain.  
  
Ranko regarded him, as he stood upright. "You're doing pretty well, bro. I wouldn't have expected you to last half an hour against me, much less an hour fighting off what I've thrown at you." Her brows furrowed. "I swear, you act more like a rusty martial artist than a person who's never done Kenpo before."  
  
Ranma blinked at that statement, and plowed his mind for a proper response. "Heh, thanks for the compliment, Sis. I really appreciate you doing this for me." She frowned, not completely satisfied that he was telling her the truth, but she decided not to press the issue any further. She also wasn't used to her brother being this polite and *considerate* to her. 'Could be that he's finally grown up,' she thought.  
  
"Okay bro, this is what I need you to do..." She began rattling off a regimen of repetitive exercises that he already knew by heart.  
  
Ranma sighed, glad that he was able to deflect her suspicions. 'She's smart, I'll give her that,' he conceded. He crouched into an attack stance, preparing to launch his first attack at Ranko, as she had directed him to do. "Whenever you're ready..."  
  
****  
  
  
Nodoka Saotome hummed to herself as she wiped down the kitchen counter. 'Hmm, the kids should be home soon,' she thought as she put the wash-towel away. She looked up from her clean counter top at the sound of a muffled noise coming from outside. Curious, she walked to the back door of the house and stepped outside.  
  
"I'll get you this time!" she heard coming from the training hall. She frowned, recognizing Ranma's voice as the one doing the shouting. Quickly she made her way from the house to the hall. Bounding up the steps, she whipped open the doors and gasped at what she saw.  
  
Nodoka's eyes flashed as she saw Ranma and Ranko mixing it up in the middle of the training hall. Her son was setting himself up to launch a jump kick at Ranko. Not wanting to watch any further, she barged onto the mats with the intent of stopping the brawling siblings. "What the *hell* is going on here?!" she demanded.  
  
Caught unawares, Ranko cringed in surprise at the sound of her mother's angry voice and turned quickly to face her. Her head whipped quickly back to Ranma just in time to see him hurtling out of control at her.  
  
"Oh *shiiiiiiiitt*!!," Ranma yelled as he careened towards his ill-prepared sister, his arms waving wildly and his eyes wide open.  
  
*CRUNCH!*  
  
Nodoka winced as she watched her children become a tangled mess of arms and legs. With effort, she managed to hide the smirk that kept threatening to appear on her face. It was hard not to laugh at the scene, especially knowing that neither Ranma nor Ranko were hurt. 'Now to find out what they were arguing about this time...' With a stern look, she marched over to the tangled teens.  
  
"How many times have I told you two not to *FIGHT?*" Ranma and Ranko winced at the volume of the last word. Motivated by their mother's ire, they quickly untangled themselves and assumed standing positions next to each other. Both started talking at the same time.  
  
"Ranko wasn't ..."  
  
"Mom, he and I weren't..."  
  
Both blushed, and stared down at the floor, avoiding Nodoka's critical gaze. Setting her hands on her hips, she began questioning the two. "Alright, what started it this time?" She looked at Ranma. "You didn't put her panties down the disposal again, did you Ranma?" He *barely* managed to choke back a snicker after getting a visual on that. He reminded himself to ask Ranko about that sometime in the future. He shook his head 'no' to answer his mother's question but said nothing.  
  
Nodoka sighed, and looked at Ranko. "Then it must've been you, Ranko." She leaned closer to Ranko, staring her in the eye. "Okay, spill it young lady! What did you do to him this time?" She stood back again, holding her hands in front of her, sighing impatiently. "No. I'd rather not know what it was that started it." She regarded Ranko sternly. "You ought to know better than to abuse Ranma like this, young lady! Ranma's in no condition to defend himself from a martial artist with your level of experience. Even if you were only trained by your father."  
  
Ranma and Ranko both winced inwardly at the barb against their father. However, they both held their ground without protest, each waiting for a chance to speak.  
  
Nodoka continued to rant. "I can't believe you two! Constantly fighting like cats and dogs." She began pacing in front of the two.  
  
Ranko raised her hand uncertainly. "Uhh... Mom? ..."  
  
Nodoka continued without even hearing her. "Maybe I should just break down and give each of you a sword and let you two finish each other off for good. Then I could finally have some peace and quiet around here!" She continued pacing, wringing her hands angrily.  
  
Ranma raised a finger and cleared his throat. '"Ummm... Yo... Mom?..." he stammered.  
  
Nodoka ignored him, continuing to pace and speak. "No, I couldn't do that. The mess would be too big to clean up. Besides it's hard to get blood stains out of clothes."  
  
Ranma and Ranko bigsweated as they watched their mother blather on about their fighting and wear a groove in the floor in front of them. Finally, having enough, they both shouted "MOM!!" in perfect unison.  
  
Nodoka jumped at the shout. "What!?" she shouted with a heavy dose of irritation.  
  
Ranko took a deep breath, sighing loudly before launching into her explanation. "Mom, we weren't fighting..."  
  
"That's what it looked like to me," she retorted.  
  
"I asked her to," Ranma chimed in.  
  
Nodoka looked at Ranma askance. "Ranma, honey, ... why?"  
  
"I felt it was time I did something new, so I asked Ranko to show me a few moves. *That's* what we were doing, Mom," he answered calmly.  
  
Nodoka's face radiated shock. "Ranma, I don't believe this. You've always shunned martial arts before, so what's with the sudden interest?"  
  
Ranma didn't know how to answer the question, so he improvised. "I just wanted to try some new stuff. A lot of my friends seem to like it." 'Yeah, right...' he added to himself.  
  
Nodoka's look hardened. She could see the potential trouble this could cause, both between he and Ranko, and between he and her husband. "Well, when your father hears about this, he's likely to get very upset. You know how he likes to go on about honor and Kenpo and all of that."  
  
Ranma sighed tiredly. "Mom, could you please keep this from him. I don't want any trouble for myself or Ranko because of this." His look hardened as well. "I'm going to practice martial arts somewhere. I'd prefer to do it here."  
  
Nodoka's eyebrow swept up in response to Ranma's veiled threat, and her respect for her son went up a notch. "Very well, Son, I'll stay out of this. But should your father find out, I won't intervene for you either. It'll be up to you to decide whether or not you want to risk getting your father angry."  
  
Ranma nodded. "Thanks Mom. I promise, Ranko and I'll be as discreet as possible. Don't worry."  
  
Nodoka sighed in resignation. "Alright, if that's what you want, I'll abide by it." She turned to leave the training hall, looking over her shoulder before stepping out. "You two better get inside. Genma will be home soon." She walked back to the house quietly. 'My boy's growing up,' she thought with a smile. 'As I always knew he would.'  
  
****  
  
  
The two practiced for another half-hour before answering Nodoka's call for them to come in. Bushed, they cleaned up the training hall, dragged themselves inside the house and crawled up the stairs to their bedrooms.  
  
A few minutes later, an exhausted Ranma shuffled into the bathroom. Bone weary from the exercise and punishment he'd endured; he slipped out of his gi and entered the bath. His mind in another world, he'd slumped down automatically on a stool and started scrubbing away when he heard someone gasp sharply. He turned to see who made the noise when his eyes fell on a beet-red and very wet Ranko. She had managed to cover all of the interesting parts with her hands before Ranma could catch a glimpse of anything.  
  
She sat on her stool, soap cascading down her side and back as she stared wide-eyed at her naked brother, her mouth gaping slightly. With an effort, she managed to collect her wits. "Ranma, you did see the sign on the door, didn't you? I mean, aren't we a little old to be bathing together?"  
  
Ranma didn't answer, although his mortified look clearly told her that he hadn't expected to find her in here. Covering himself by reflex, he yelled in surprise and quickly scrambled out of the room, closing the door behind him. "Sorry Sis!" he yelled behind the door. Ranko eventually resumed her scrubbing, although she wasn't able to lose her blush for the remainder of the night.  
  
After bathing alone and eating, Ranma retired to his room. He smacked himself on the forehead, cursing his ignorance for relying on his old habits. It was crystal clear to him that he was in a different Nerima, and that he'd have to adapt to his new environment before he alienated everybody and wound up alone and miserable. Plus, he had to prioritize. First and foremost, he had to find out how others saw him. 'I guess Ranko will be helping me out a lot on that one. Later on, that is. There's no telling what she'd think of me if I told her about the wish now. She'd probably accuse me of making fun of her and stop training me...'  
  
He also had to get the full story on Akane's behavior, and figure out a way of fixing it before he lost any chance of being with her. He smiled, realizing what else had been missing from the day. Neither Shampoo nor Ukyou had ambushed him with either their own version of love/lust or food today. 'It's a good thing Mom cooks a lot, otherwise I would've had to look for an extra meal,' he added with a smirk.  
  
Concentrating on his sister, he flushed in embarrassment as the event in the bathroom replayed suddenly in his mind. He hadn't seen anything of Ranko's body, but he was quite sure he'd given her an unintentional eyeful of his. A small comfort was that she hadn't reacted like Akane would've.  
  
"Akane..." Ranma whispered mournfully, his thoughts and the incident in the bathroom suddenly forgotten. Not able to stop the overpowering flood of emotions that were weighing on his heart, he let them wash through him. More depressed than he'd ever been in his life, Ranma turned out the light, and tried to get some sleep.  
  
****  
  
  
The next several days passed by more smoothly than the first, with Ranma paying more attention to the teachers and trying to pay less to Akane. That was especially hard for him to do, though, whenever he saw Akane and Kuno together either at lunch or when arriving at and leaving school. Truth be told, he couldn't bear to look at her at all.  
  
Although he tried to console his broken heart by reminding himself that Akane had never known him in this existence, her absence from his life constantly stabbed at his heart. He kept his depression at bay by drawing hope from his progress with his training; thinking that maybe, just maybe, when he was in top form they would be together again. That helped to fire his determination, as every day he would vow that he would make Akane his again.  
  
He had taken that determination and used it to fuel his training sessions with his sister. Each night saw his body becoming more and more attuned to the movements that he visualized in his mind. The physical conditioning he underwent in his training, and at school, helped to attune his body. As the days had progressed, his confidence in himself solidified, and Ranko's admiration of her brother grew by leaps and bounds.  
  
On the seventh day of training, he was capable of launching *effective* offensive moves against her. Their sparring had become less of an educational event and more of an endurance test for both. Ranko was really appreciating the workout her brother was giving her, but it was beginning to seem like he was pulling his punches a bit, almost as if he didn't want to hit her at all. After a few more minutes of having to tolerate his behavior, Ranko held her hand up to stop him. "Ranma, what the hell are you doing?"  
  
Ranma showed her a puzzled look. "I'm doing what you told me, Sis," he replied simply.  
  
"Not that! Why aren't you trying to hit me?" she demanded. "I know you're strong Ranma, and you've improved a lot over the past week, but you act like you're holding back, and I want to know why." She stood in front of him, her arms crossed under her breasts, awaiting an answer.  
  
Ranma blushed slightly and coughed into his hand. "Well, I ummm... You see, I can't... I can't hit girls." Ranko gave him a dark look, and Ranma hurried to explain himself. "Honestly, I just don't want to hurt you, Sis."  
  
Ranko stood on her tiptoes so that she and Ranma were nose-to-nose. "Let's get one thing straight big brother," she shouted into his face, poking him in the chest as she said every word. "Yeah I'm a girl, but I'm also a martial artist, and it's a Goddamn *insult* to me when you hold yourself back." Ranma's eyes widened as she said that. He'd never considered that what he was doing was an insult to girls. 'Did Akane feel the same way?' he asked himself quickly. He didn't get a chance to think about much else as his angry sister continued.  
  
"How *dare* you say that I can't defend myself from you, or any guy, simply because I'm female? You make it sound like I haven't ever taken martial arts seriously. What the hell gives you the right..." A lone tear worked its way free from her reddened eyes, and wound its way down her cheek. Angrily she swiped the tear from her face. "Thanks a lot, Ranma," she spat viciously.  
  
Ranma shook his head and berated himself for his poor choice of words. Tentatively, he reached his hand out to her and grabbed her gently by the arm. "Sis, please... don't cry. I didn't mean to say you weren't good. I just..." He faltered in his explanation, trying to find the proper words, but not coming up with any. "I'm sorry, Ranko. I won't hold back anymore." Not sensing any resistance from her, he pulled her to him and brought his other arm around her, holding her tenderly. "I promise."  
  
Ranko sniffled a bit. "Really?" she asked, laying her head against his shoulder.  
  
Ranma smiled. "Yeah, Ranko. Really. I'll even try to beat the shit out of you if you want," he said with a smile.  
  
Ranko couldn't help herself, and erupted with laughter. Her anger gone, she stood away from her brother, wiping the moisture from her cheeks on the sleeve of her gi. "You'd better Ranma, because from now on I'm not gonna hold back either," she said with a smile.  
  
Ranma winced inwardly, convinced that the number of bruises he was going to get that night had just doubled. They resumed fighting, with him pouring everything he had into his attacks and truly enjoying his training with his sister.  
  
****  
  
  
The eleventh day marked a turning point for Ranma. For the first time since his training had begun, he'd fought his sister to a standstill. The fight ended in a draw, with both Saotome's very winded. Ranma had pushed himself harder than he had ever done before, and was rewarded with complete exhaustion and a loud kiss on the cheek from his sister, congratulating him on his good work.  
  
"You're doing very well, Ranma. I've never seen anyone take to martial arts like this before. In fact, you've done well enough that I think I'll start showing you some of the higher level forms and special techniques from Anything Goes tomorrow," she stated. Her face clearly showed how blown away she was. It astounded her that he could be doing so well in Anything Goes in so little time. She had to admit that, against her better senses, she was starting to like her brother. His change in behavior seemed genuine, and since that first day of training, he had been going out of his way to make her feel appreciated. After seeing the remarkable change wrought in him in a mere two weeks, she couldn't help but praise him.  
  
He blushed at the compliments, not used to hearing it from one of his own family. Also, his ears perked up at Ranko's mention of special techniques. 'I guess I should really go all out tomorrow. If she feels that I'm ready for special techniques, then perhaps it's time I started trying to use them again,' he thought to himself as he helped his sister clean the training hall. He smiled suddenly; thinking how surprised his sister would be tomorrow when he finally let loose.  
  
****  
  
  
A vibrant and smiling Ranma cracked his knuckles and adopted a fighting stance. "You ready for me, Ranko?" he asked lightly.  
  
A frazzled and flushed Ranko nodded wearily at him, grunting her assent as she tiredly brought her hands up into an attack stance. Ranma nodded back to her, signaling that she should initiate the attack. As quickly as she could, Ranko lunged forward, her arms snapping up with her palm aimed right at his nose. But to her disgust, he was once again not there. At her first movement, Ranma leapt up and vaulted *over* her, pivoting on her head with his index finger. He then landed behind her, crouched down and swept her legs out from under her, all before she could even turn around.  
  
*Whump!* "Ouch!" she shouted as her breath left her body again. She noted absently that she never impacted with the mat that many times before in single session. She'd stopped counting when she reached thirty-seven. "Where the *hell* did he pick this stuff up?" she muttered under her breath to no-one in particular.  
  
She looked up to see Ranma holding his hand out for her. She debated reaching for it, wondering if staying on the mats for the moment wasn't the wiser course of action. 'Geez! Even Pop's not this good!' she lamented.  
  
He jumped back from her, moving into a ready stance. He was primed for action, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet, and flexing his arms. To Ranko it looked as though his body was almost bursting at the seams with pent-up energy. He smiled down at the sagging form of Ranko, motioning his hands toward himself in an effort to try and encourage her into coming at him again. "Come on, Sis! Just a couple more, okay? I have a thing or two that I haven't tried yet."  
  
She was too tired to even glare at him, so she instead waved him off with a tired movement of her hand, concentrating instead on breathing. "I don't think so, Ranma. I'm so exhausted that I'm having trouble standing!" She paused to catch her breath again. "Though I guess I understand why you're ready to go. After all, I was the one doing all of the chasing, and I didn't even lay a *finger* on you!" she griped. She sat up a bit, leaned to her left, and picked up her towel. Tiredly she wiped the sweat from her brow and around her neck as she propped herself against one of the walls of the training hall.  
  
"You know, it only took you two weeks to go from being a nobody to whipping my ass. Now I know for a fact that I'm not that good a teacher, so..." Her gaze bored into him. "So I want you to tell me where you learned all this stuff." She continued to stare, awaiting an answer.  
  
Ranma smiled enigmatically. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you, Sis."  
  
She hoped that her disappointed scowl told him that she didn't like the answer. But she knew that she had to accept it. After all, she couldn't beat the information out of him anymore. "Well, either you're getting better, or I'm getting worse!" she said dejectedly.  
  
Ranma chuckled and sat next to his sister, putting his arm around her shoulders. "Hey! Don't worry about your skills. You're not a bad martial artist, Sis. In fact, you're great! Especially for a girl."  
  
Ranko turned to her brother with an angry look on her face. "Well thanks a lot! Geez, why are you acting so sexist?"  
  
Ranma flushed, realizing he'd just insulted her. "Sorry, that came out the wrong way. I meant to say that you fight as well as a man, and I've never seen a woman do that before, that's all..."  
  
Ranko nodded, somewhat satisfied with the apology.  
  
Still eager to show his stuff, Ranma stood up and walked to the door of the training hall. Releasing a beleaguered sigh, Ranko rose to follow him. "Hey Ranma, wait up!" she called as she walked after him, too tired to run. Once she made it to the door of the training hall, she could see Ranma placing the last in a series of practice dummies out in the yard.  
  
After making sure that the last one was in place, he walked over to her. "I need to practice some special moves, so I figured that I'd set these up to practice on."  
  
"We could've done that, bro. Why bring out the dummies?" She adopted an air of feigned disappointment.  
  
Ranma shook his head, laying his hands on her shoulders. "Not this time, Sis. Even under the best control, I could seriously hurt you with these moves. It's best that I use the practice dummies now." He held his hand up to forestall any further comment from her. "Just trust me on this one. Watch and you'll see for yourself."  
  
Ranko sat on the steps leading to the training hall, reclining against one of the roof supports as she awaited the demonstration from her brother. He stood in front of the first dummy, and concentrated on his attack. Imagining that the dummy was Ryouga helped a bit. Bringing his hands up, he struck, shouting, "KACHUU TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN!" Ranko watched in awe as her 'weakling' brother's hands blurred into action, landing 479 punches in less than 30 seconds. The top of the practice dummy was so much dust when he stopped. 'What the *hell* was *that*?' she thought in shock, her face slack-jawed as she came to her feet and walked towards him.  
  
Ranma didn't say anything, standing silent for a second and admiring his handiwork. He flexed his fingers to alleviate the numbness, then rubbed his hands to clean off some of the dust. Although he didn't show it at the moment, it pleased him greatly that he was regaining his old form. 'In less than two weeks, even!' he exulted.  
  
Calming his breathing and clearing his mind, he concentrated on keeping himself cool as he walked to the next dummy, which was sitting directly in the sunlight. 'This one's for you, Kuno!' he thought as he began to slowly orbit the practice dummy.  
  
Remembering Ranko, he quickly looked over his shoulder, shouting, "You might want to stand back a little more." After seeing that first move, she was quick to agree, and regained her seat on the training hall steps. "That's good!" he shouted before returning his attention to the dummy. He increased his speed around the dummy, his eyes mere slits as he concentrated on keeping himself calm. Then with a flourish he completed the move, cupping his hands together and thrusting them towards the dummy, shouting, "HI RYU SHO TEN HA!" A column of blazing chi-energy launched from between Ranma and the practice dummy, blasting it out of the yard.  
  
As the tendrils of energy vanished, a panicked Ranko jumped up from her seat and ran towards her brother. "Ranma, you alright?!" she yelled in concern. She stopped short as she noted that Ranma was untouched by the energy, and not even *breathing hard*. The grass between him and the erstwhile target was flattened. The practice dummy was nowhere to be seen.  
  
He looked at her, smiling in satisfaction. "Nothin' to it, Sis! Wow, what a way to work off stress!" He took a deep breath, very pleased with the results of his last attack. And even though the last attack had left him winded, he decided to press on. He had something else he needed to try. "Now I only have one more thing to do before I quit for the day," he announced to her as he walked away from target number two's last known position.  
  
Ranko's eyes widened, "One more? Geez, Ranma, what else could there be?" She remained standing this time, turning to watch as Ranma faced the final practice dummy.  
  
Standing in front of the doomed target, he crouched into a battle stance. He closed his eyes, focusing all of his attention on it. He stood like that for a few minutes, doing nothing. Ranko was about to check on him to see if he had fallen asleep or something, when he moved in a lightning fast array of hand movements, shouting, "MOUKO TAKABISHA!" A ball of chi-energy launched from his hands and struck the dummy in the center of the chest area, burrowing a hole completely through it. Exhaustion overcame him as he sank down to one knee, his breathing labored. Ranko ran over and held onto him so he wouldn't fall over.  
  
"Thanks Sis. I guess I overdid it a bit on that last one," he said as he fought to a standing position again. He held onto her shoulders, putting as much weight on her as he thought she could stand, breathing deeply.  
  
Ranko was too astounded by what she'd seen to notice her brother's burden on her shoulders. "Ranma, that was incredible!" she shouted in amazement. "I had no idea you could do this!" 'Hell, I didn't know *anyone* could do this sort of stuff,' she thought as she guided him to the steps of the training room and had him sit down.  
  
Once he was sitting, she sat next to him and handed him his towel. He accepted it with a nod and began wiping sweat from his brow. A few moments passed by as they sat in companionable silence, allowing each of them a chance to rest and relax. Ranma merely sat there, taking deep breaths and calming his racing heart. Ranko's curiosity became uncontainable as she sat next to him, dwelling on what she's seen him do.  
  
"You know, we really need to talk," she blurted out suddenly. He turned his head to look in her deep blue eyes. "You're not the same person I knew two weeks ago, Ranma. I've been really patient with you since you asked me to train you, but now I think it's high time you told me what the hell's going on."  
  
He considered this for a moment, not sure what kind of impact it would have on him if he told people about his other, 'former,' life. Considering it worth the risk after all they'd managed to do together over the past two weeks, he shrugged his shoulders and decided that he should confide in her. "Okay Ranko, I'll tell you everything. But let's get cleaned up first. I'm exhausted, and could really use a bath right now."  
  
"Okay, Bro. You can go first, while I'll clean up the training room..." A sly grin made its way on her face, "... unless you're too tired and need me to join you and scrub your back." She broke out into a fit of cackling laughter at Ranma blush, the incident in the bathroom still very vivid in both of their minds.  
  
"Ha ha," he deadpanned. "No thanks Sis, I think I can manage by myself," he said, wrapping his towel around his neck and standing up.  
  
With that, he sprinted for the training hall doors, ran across the yard and into the house. She watched him go, a newfound respect for her older brother showing on her face as she put the last of the practice items away.  
  
Another figure, in a white leisure suit, watched as well from a discreet distance. Hovering sixty feet above the back yard of the Saotome residence, he smiled to himself. He had chosen well, he felt. Ranma's greatest challenge was yet to happen, however, and that event would be the one to decide Saotome's true fate. He snapped his fingers, and disappeared.  
  
****  
  
  
Ranko exited the bath, a towel draped loosely across her breasts as she hurried to her bedroom. As she walked down the hall, a hand suddenly grabbed her by the shoulder. She whirled around in an attack stance, somehow managing to keep the towel over her front as she brought her free hand up to face her attacker. She deflated as she saw a smirking Ranma holding onto her shoulder.  
  
"Gotcha!" he said with a smile.  
  
She flushed red, embarrassed at being caught unawares. "Get your hand offa me, pervert!" she said with mock anger. Ranma released his grip on her, still smiling. He turned to leave when she called out to him, "Hey! When are we gonna have that talk?"  
  
He turned back to her and said, "We'll talk in my room, once you're dressed that is."  
  
Ranko's voice gained a teasing tone as she tugged at her towel. "What's wrong, Ranma? You think this outfit's a little too flimsy?" Ranma's red face was all she'd hoped for. "Gotcha back!" she yelled, giggling. She stuck her tongue out, then ran for her room before Ranma could recover. Flustered, he decided not to shout a comeback to that and walked to his room instead.  
  
A few minutes later, she knocked on his door. "Come in," he said softly as she opened the door and walked through.  
  
She saw him sitting on his bed, his eyes half-closed and his hands behind his head in a comfortable repose. She sat next to him on his bed, watching his face for any clue as to what he was thinking. He appeared to be somewhere else, if his eyes were any indication. "So, what's up Ranma?"  
  
Ranma opened his eyes fully and sat up a bit , facing his sister. A smile slowly appeared on his face, which was slowly mirrored by one of her own. He'd continued to debate the wisdom of telling her about the wish. But, in the end, he felt that if he couldn't tell his own flesh and blood, he wouldn't be able to tell anyone. And he knew that at some point down the line he'd have to tell this story several times. "Well, Ranko. What I have to say will definitely sound strange. But I need you to believe me, because it really happened."  
  
'Great! A cheesy sci-fi opening for his story,' she deadpanned to herself. "Geez, Ranma! You're making this sound like an episode of 'Unsolved Mysteries'..." She eyed her brother suspiciously, not sure that he was going to tell her the truth. "Try being serious, okay? I don't need you wasting my time."  
  
He got the point, and decided to plow ahead instead of embroidering the truth. 'Well, here goes nothing,' he thought as he gathered the story together in his mind. He then launched into the story of his 'other' life, occasionally stumbling over certain details and omitting others he felt weren't important. Ranko's eyes grew larger and larger as he continued spinning his tale until she felt she couldn't take it anymore. Her head throbbing, she held one hand up to stop him, while the other hand went to her head. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! You're giving me a headache!"  
  
"But it's all true!" Ranma fairly shouted, holding his hands out imploringly. 'She doesn't believe me!' he thought in a panic. 'How the hell do I convince her that I'm not lying?' He leaned towards her a bit, bringing his face directly in front of hers. "I wouldn't lie about something like this!" he hissed, his fists clenched in frustration.  
  
Ranko had to admit that while the story sounded like something out of an Anime show, it held a ring of truth to it. Besides, impossible as it seemed, it was the only plausible explanation that she would accept for how he learned all of those intricate fighting forms. Sighing, she decided that it was best to believe him, for now. "It's okay bro. If you say it's true, I believe you." She took a few moments to run through the story again, then decided to ask some questions.  
  
"Okay Ranma, lemme get this straight." She held up her hand to tick points off on her fingers. "You were granted a wish, and that wish made you what you are right now." Ranma nodded. "And in your 'other life' you never had a sister?"  
  
He nodded again. "I have a theory about that. It seems that the Saotome family was always destined to have a daughter. And since I was cursed in the other life, I also acted as that daughter," he said by way of explanation. Seeing the skeptical look on her face, he added, "Hey, it's just a theory!"  
  
"Whatever, bro," she said, dismissing that for the moment. "You mentioned the curse again. You and Pop went to this Ginseng..."  
  
"Jusenkyo," he corrected.  
  
"Yeah, whatever. Jusenkyo. And this place held a bunch of cursed springs. You both fell into the springs, right?" Another nod. "Pop became a panda-" She chuckled again at the image of her father as a cute fuzzy bear playing with a tire. Recovering quickly, she continued, "...and you became a girl?"  
  
Ranma nodded slowly, "Yeah. Cold water activated the curses, and hot water reversed them."  
  
"So you weren't a girl all the time?" she pressed.  
  
Ranma shook his head. "No, thank God! I only became a girl whenever I got hit with cold water."  
  
"Still, you know what it's like to be a girl, right?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah, I feel like I've been through a lot more than necessary," he replied, sighing like a war-weary veteran.  
  
"What did you look like?"  
  
"Well to tell you the truth, I looked exactly like you do, except I had red hair instead of black."  
  
That earned a stare from his sister. "You looked exactly like me? How would you know what I look like?"  
  
"Well, there was that time in the bathroom a couple of weeks ago. Plus you *did* flash me with the towel just a few minutes ago. It was kinda hard not to notice, Ranko." Now it was her turn to blush deep crimson. She didn't think that she'd exposed herself to him. Shuffling uncomfortably, she decided to press on.  
  
"So, did you ever date a guy, Ranma?"  
  
Ranma flushed, "Gaah! No! Of course not! Yuck!" His body went through various gyrations as he expressed his distaste at the question. "I only had the body of a girl. My mind never changed," he said quickly.  
  
"Ahhh! Now I see. That must've been an interesting curse to live with," she said wryly, once he completed his explanation of the Spring of Drowned Girl.  
  
"More than you'll ever know. Why did you think I wished to be rid of the curse?" He told her about all of the problems that he had to endure in his other life. Some of them were a direct result of his curse, others a direct result of his father.  
  
"Multiple engagements? And Kuno chasing after you? Heh, my brother the gigolo!" she said, a fit of giggling overcoming her.  
  
"Hey, cut that out Ranko! I'm not done telling my story yet!"  
  
Bringing herself under control, she quieted down and allowed him to continue his life story. "Anyway, Pop made a few promises to some people both before I started learning Anything Goes, and while we were on our training trips. The last training trip we took to China a year or so ago was the one that caused my curse. Pop had promised to make me a man among men before Mom would allow me to go with him on even the first trip. So we would have been forced to commit seppuku if he had failed." Ranko's eyes widened in horror as she got a visual of Ranma and her dad disemboweling themselves. He continued. "After the curse, I wasn't able to talk to Mom."  
  
"Ahh, now I understand why you're so happy whenever you see her," Ranko replied. Ranma nodded, a sad look on his face. She sighed, silently thanking God that she'd not been dragged around on training trips with her father. Ranma's version of Pop sounded only a little different from the one she lived with now. Ranma shook his head to clear it, and then continued.  
  
"Another promise was the one I already told you about, where Pop promised to marry me to Ukyou. And finally, right as I was born Pop made a promise to his lifelong friend Soun Tendo, that should Pop have a boy and Mr. Tendo have a girl; they would marry the kids so they could carry on the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts.  
  
Well, after we went to Jusenkyo, Pop finally told me about the arranged marriage. Actually, he waited until we were a block from the Tendo Dojo before he told me." Ranma's fists clenched at the memory. "Anyway, when we arrived, Pop and I found out that Mr. Tendo had three daughters; Kasumi, who was nineteen, Nabiki, who was seventeen, and Akane, who was sixteen. Akane was chosen as the one to marry me by the other two after they found out about my curse.  
  
Ranma winced involuntarily as he remembered how well he and Akane had literally hit it off when they first met. 'She didn't have to hit me so hard with that table...' he thought absently. With an effort he brought his mind back to the present. "Akane and I never made the engagement official. I mean, how could I get married to a girl in the condition I was in? Although, come to think of it, she didn't seem to mind the curse that much," he dismissed a sudden feeling of misgiving he felt about making the wish.  
  
"But anyway, another reason we didn't make the engagement official was that we argued all the time." He smiled wanly, adding, "I have to admit, though, that she had begun to grow on me recently. If only she wasn't such a ..." He broke off, not wanting to complete the sentence.  
  
Ranko looked at her brother closely, her eyes narrowing as she guessed at what he wasn't able to say. "You loved her, didn't you?" she demanded. It was a shock to her that even after suffering through all of the bad things that he said happened between them, he still managed to fall in love with her. She could tell that by just looking at him, and she had to admire her brother for his tolerance.  
  
Ranma's head snapped up, as his old defense instincts kicked in. "No! That tomboy?! That uncute macho chick is ..."  
  
Ranko held her hand up, the expression on her face telling Ranma he should stop. "Remember who you're talking to, bro. I may be a girl to you..." Ranma flushed at the comment. "...but I'm also a Saotome. I recognize that look on your face. You don't have to lie to me, so just admit it," Ranko admonished, wagging her finger in a lecturing fashion.  
  
Ranma relaxed, deciding that denying the obvious wouldn't help him anymore. "Yeah, you're right, I do." His relaxed posture changed to one of anger. "But we could never seem to get anywhere with all of the interference from Ryouga, Mousse, Kuno, and other wanna-be fiancees!" he hissed, his fists balled up. Then his hands fell to his sides, and his eyes lit up as he realized something. "But that's not the case anymore! Shampoo, Mousse, and that old ghoul aren't here because I never went to the village of the Amazons. Same thing with Ukyou! Pop and I never met her father, so she has no reason to be here, either. Plus, I haven't met Ryouga or Kodachi yet. I think..."  
  
Ranko stopped trying to follow his ranting after "But that's" and calmly watched him go on. Once he'd finished, she asked, "What are you babbling about, Ranma?"  
  
"Don't you see, Ranko? I can start over with Akane, and not have any interference. It may actually work this time!" He jumped up, a big smile on his face. Ranko stood up from his bed and backed away from her brother, watching him from a distance.  
  
"Bro, lemme get something straight here. You're going to chase after her? After everything that's happened to you? After all the crap you had to put up with from her?"  
  
"Yeah, why not? After all, she could do worse." 'Correction, she *is* doing worse,' he thought evilly as Akane and Kuno came to mind again.  
  
Ranko shook her head, not sure that she wanted to get involved in this at all, but deciding that her brother could be getting in over his head. "You said yourself that she doesn't know you, so what are you going to do now? I don't really know who this Akane person is. If she's at Furinkan High, I haven't seen her."  
  
"Oh she's there alright. She's in my classes, although she acts like she doesn't even know who I am," he said.  
  
"So how are you going to get her attention?"  
  
"Getting her attention isn't the real problem, Ranko. I have to get her away from that idiot, Kuno." Ranma recalled what he saw outside of the Tendo Dojo that day, and all of the times since at Furinkan High. "Why she's even hanging out with that jerk is beyond me," he said sullenly.  
  
"Well, you'd better have a lot of life insurance if you're going to go after Kuno. The 'Blue Thunder of Furinkan High' is good. I've never fought him myself, but I've seen the results of his fights many times before. His reputation precedes him."  
  
Ranma cracked his knuckles and smirked. "Now that I have my fighting abilities back, Kuno's going to become the new doormat of the high school."  
  
Ranko chuckled lightly and patted him on the back, saying, "Well I wish you luck Ranma. Just let me know if you need any help with him."  
  
Ranma turned to face her. "You know, before, I'd always wondered what it would be like to have a brother or a sister. I was surprised when Mom said that we didn't get along before." Ranko's head turned away from him. "What were we like together, Sis?"  
  
She didn't know where to begin. All of the little stunts that they'd pulled on each other over time had given way to the angry relationship that this Ranma had wished himself into. "A lot of petty arguing, Ranma," she stated simply. She blew out her breath as she explained herself. "You were always so jealous of the attention Pop paid to me because of my training. You would get back at me by teasing me about being too butch, or being a tomboy, or saying that martial arts was turning me into a man..." she broke off, hoping to contain her anger before it erupted. She reminded herself that this Ranma claimed that he wasn't the same one that did those things to her so long ago.  
  
"I'd normally get back at you by destroying your toys. When we were older, I'd find some of your choice Anime and flatten it, or find one of your manga and rip it to shreds. You kept on teasing me about being a man, tearing up my underwear and leaving the pieces on the bed, saying that a man shouldn't be wearing a bra or panties." Her lower lip quivered slightly; the emotions of all those previous fights overwhelming her self-control. "In short Ranma, we hated each other." She lowered her head, tears streaming down her face as she wept quietly.  
  
"I tried many times to be nice to you," she said through a face slick with tears, her thick voice cutting through her sorrow as she forced herself to go on. "But you were always angry with me. Jealous, I guess, because Pop rejected you and took me instead for the heir to the Saotome School." In her emotional haze, she didn't notice her brother inching closer to her on the bed, his hand hovering at her back. The look on his face clearly showed that he was disgusted with his other self. He was sure that Ranko was only telling her side of the events, but he didn't doubt that most of what she was saying was true.  
  
"When we both went into high school this year, you weren't as ugly to me as you used to be. It was as if you'd given up on fighting with me..." Ranko stopped speaking as she felt his arm go around her shoulders. She responded to the gesture by laying her head against his chest.  
  
"Sis, why didn't you just knock the hell out of me?" he asked softly.  
  
She laughed derisively. "Oh, believe me, I wanted to. There were a couple of times in the past where I was so angry with you that I wanted to knock you into Lower Earth Orbit." She ground her teeth in frustration. "But Mom always managed to catch us before we came to blows, and threatened me with 'severe consequences' if I ever knocked you around. So I had to keep martial arts out of our arguments." She laughed suddenly. "But I did enjoy watching Mom or Pop punish you whenever they learned that the argument was your fault. At least then I knew you weren't going to get away with it."  
  
Ranma held on to his angry sister, feeling the tension working its way through the corded muscles of her arms and back. 'I deserved it too, if what she said was true.' "Ranko, I know I didn't have anything to do with that, but I... I'm so sorry. I..." He stopped for a moment, unsure of what to say next. Fumbling for words, he finally managed to say, "Well, I'm glad you're here with me now, Sis. And you can be sure that I won't ever do anything like that again." He wrapped her up in a tight hug, mussing her hair.  
  
Ranko returned the hug, dismissing her anger as being misplaced. She was certain now that this wasn't the same person who only last month cut her bra into small pieces for throwing away one of his Manga.  
  
"Hey Ranko, I was wondering," he said brightly, changing the subject to lighten the mood.  
  
They disengaged from the hug, Ranma keeping an arm around the slight shoulders of his sister. "Yeah, what is it?"  
  
"How old are you? I mean, you look like you're the same age I am."  
  
"I'm fifteen. I was born ten months after you were."  
  
"Oh. Well, that being the case, I should be able to teach you some of the special moves you saw me do today. That is, if you want me to."  
  
Ranko smiled evilly. "Yeah. I'd like that. It'd help me keep those hentai schoolboys away from me."  
  
Ranma gave her a big grin and said, "Lemme know if you ever want any help in that department. I can be quite persuasive." They both laughed at that.  
  
"Waitaminute," Ranma said, changing course suddenly. "If you're ten months younger, then how did you get into Furinkan?"  
  
Ranko shrugged her shoulders and favored him with a smirk. "What can I say? Damn, I'm good!" Seeing that would not suffice as an answer, she continued. "I did really well in school, and am in an accelerated program."  
  
"That's cool!" Ranma said with a smile, tightening his hug on her again. "I guess-"  
  
Both heads turned at the sound of their mother calling them to the dinner table.  
  
Before he let go of her, Ranma thought to add, "Hey Ranko. Please keep our conversation between us. I don't want Mom or Pop to think that I'm crazy."  
  
"Don't worry. I'll keep this between us. Just make sure that you don't slip and mention it yourself." He nodded, already aware that he was going to have to be ultra careful. Letting go of her, they both left his room and went downstairs.  
  
****  
  
  
Flipping idly through all of the channels on the set, Genma Saotome dropped the remote on the table disgustedly. Settling for the American edition of Cable News Network, he crossed his legs and stared at the TV, trying to guess what the anchors were saying. A part of his mind shouted that he'd almost kill for a nice, friendly game of Go right about now.  
  
After becoming thoroughly bored with the set, he let his mind wander. He wasn't thinking about anything in particular until his gaze landed at the places where Ranma and Ranko usually sat at the table. 'Hmmm. Those two have been awfully quiet recently. I wonder what Nodoka said to them to get them to behave so well?'  
  
He was about to dismiss the thought when he realized something else. 'Come to think of it, Ranma's been quite different lately. He's been doing better in school, and every day for the past two weeks I've gotten home from work to find him dead tired in front of the TV. I swear, if I didn't know any better, I'd say that he's been exercising. Or could it be something else..." he half-suggested to himself. He scoffed at the notion as soon as he thought of it. 'Ranma can't stand Martial Arts. Besides, he knows what I'd do to him if I caught him doing it.'  
  
Not sure what to think, he decided to get to the bottom of it immediately. He sat up and turned his head towards the kitchen. "Nodoka?" he called to her from the living room.  
  
She popped her head into the 'den' from the kitchen. "Yes dear?"  
  
"Could you come here and sit by me for a moment?" Genma asked, patting the seat next to him at the table.  
  
"Sure honey," she said, with a cheerful/puzzled look on her face. She walked from the kitchen and sat down next to her husband. "What's the matter?" she asked as she adjusted her posture.  
  
"You haven't noticed anything... different... about Ranma, have you dear?" he asked as carefully as he could.  
  
Nodoka acted as if she were actually considering the question. She didn't want to give Ranma's secret away, but she didn't want to lie to her husband either. "Well, actually, yes I have."  
  
"What about him struck you as being different?" he pressed.  
  
"Why are you asking me this, Genma? Is there something wrong?" she asked with alarm. 'Has he already figured it out?' she worried to herself.  
  
Genma quickly brought his hand up to silence and comfort his wife. "Nonono. Nothing like that. I just think that he's been behaving differently recently, that's all. I just wanted to know if you noticed it too. All I want is your impression of his behavior," he said soothingly.  
  
Nodoka appeared mollified by Genma's response, and answered his question. "Well, if anything, I'd say his behavior has improved."  
  
He seemed to consider this. "Improved, how?"  
  
"Well he seems to be a lot more motivated than he used to be. Almost as if he has a goal he's reaching for. Also, he seems to behave more athletically. I thought he hated sports and exerting himself. Especially martial arts." 'Oops!' Nodoka winced internally at the slip. 'If Genma wasn't sure before, he is now...'  
  
Genma's eyes flashed angrily at her mention of martial arts. "Martial arts? You've seen him performing the arts?"  
  
"Not really... I'm just guessing," she added weakly, hoping that he wouldn't go ballistic.  
  
He stared at her blankly, wondering if that was all she knew. "Was there anything else you noticed, dear?" he pressed.  
  
"Well..." she began, then stopped as her ears registered a noise coming from the kitchen. 'Thank goodness for small favors,' she thought as she stood up. A sizzling sound had reminded her about dinner. "Oh no! The meal's going to burn if I don't hurry!" And with that she dashed back into the kitchen.  
  
Genma smiled to his departing wife, then frowned deeply as she turned the corner. 'If my suspicions are right, Ranma and I are going to have to have a discussion...' he thought, his anger stirring inside him.  
  
He turned to the stairs as he heard his wife call the children to the table. 'Yes, after dinner Ranma and I are going to come to an understanding,' he thought darkly, his knuckles cracking under the table.  
  
****  
  
  
The family sat down to the evening meal. Ranma and Ranko looked like matching bookends at their end of the table. Nodoka served the meal and all ate heartily, but quietly. During the meal, Genma kept looking at Ranma out of the corner of his eye. His son was too busy practicing the shovel method of chopstick use to notice the scrutiny. Moments later the two siblings put their bowls down on the table, having inhaled their food rather rapidly. Ranko stood from the table, saying, "I have some homework to finish. I'll be up in my room." She turned and walked up the stairs. Ranma turned to follow when Genma caught his hand.  
  
"Ranma, I need to talk to you about something." He laid his chopsticks down and stood up. "Let's go to the training hall, shall we?"  
  
He smiled and said, "Sure Pop." Ranma turned to his mother, "Thanks for the meal Mom. It was great!" The two men walked outside to the training hall, with Nodoka eyeing the departing Genma warily.  
  
They entered the training hall and stood in the middle of the room. Genma faced away from Ranma, apparently doing something, while Ranma looked about the place nervously. "So Pop, what did you... HEY!" he said as he dodged an uppercut that had been aimed directly for his chin. "What the *hell's* goin' on here?" he demanded, getting into a combat stance out of reflex.  
  
Genma didn't answer, but launched into a series of complex forms from Anything Goes. Ranma had a difficult time avoiding what Genma was dishing out, but was able to keep away from anything being launched at him. After a couple of minutes, a breathless Genma halted his assault. "So I *WAS* right! You've learned to fight! Only a *seasoned* martial artist could've avoided that!"  
  
"So, what's the big deal, old man?" Ranma retorted hotly.  
  
Genma's face was a mask of pure rage. "The big deal is that you were never *supposed* to learn martial arts in the first place, boy! Ever since the day you refused to go with me on training trips, I found you unworthy to carry on the Saotome name! No son of mine should have refused to join me on training journeys unless he wasn't capable. You were weak then, and you're weak now!"  
  
Now Ranma's rage showed, his face turning a brilliant red. "Now just a Goddamned minute! You're gonna have to get a few things straight before you start giving me that 'unworthy' crap. I can't even believe I'm hearing this from you!" He put his hands to his temples, trying to calm himself. It wasn't having any effect, however, as fresh waves of anger assailed him. "You have *no* idea what I've been through old man!" Ranma shot back, anger quickly overtaking him.  
  
Genma continued to yell, undaunted by Ranma's sudden display of backbone. "All I know for sure is that you're a disgrace boy! A stain on our family name!" he shouted in a very angry voice, pointing at his son in an accusatory manner. "You refused to learn the Anything Goes Martial Arts from me, and now I see that you've gone out and learned it from someone else! This is a shame that our family should *not* have to endure!" Genma launched another attack, trying to take Ranma down and show him that he wasn't any sort of martial artist. His punches were striking air however, as Ranma neatly dodged everything his father could throw at him. And his father wasn't merely sparring, either.  
  
"Pop, cut this out! I won't let you hit me so stop trying!" Ranma shouted as he kept blocking the kicks and punches that his father was throwing at him. His mind scrambled for a way to get his father to stop without having to resort to hitting him, although a part of him was wondering whether or not he'd be better off knocking the old fart out. He thought of a possible way out of this mess, and gave it a shot. "You're a fine one to talk about honor, old man! If you're so damn honorable, then why aren't I engaged to one of Soun Tendo's daughters?"  
  
Nothing else would've stopped Genma the way that question did. He quit fighting and collapsed to his knees and placed his face in his hands. When Ranma approached him, Genma swiped at him and shouted in almost a half-sob, "Get away from me, boy!" After a short time Genma's sobs ended, and he looked up angrily at his son. "How did you find out about that, Ranma? No one was supposed to know. Who told you!?" he demanded.  
  
Ranma decided to be evasive. He couldn't tell his father about the wish or his 'other life'. His life now was chaotic enough without freaking his parents out, so he decided to do some artful storytelling. "I learned it from the person who trained me."  
  
Genma stared hard at his son. "Oh, and who would THAT be?"  
  
Ranma smiled inwardly, awaiting his father's reaction to his answer. "Why Pop, it was the same person who trained you and Mr. Tendo. Happosai, of course."  
  
Anger immediately forgotten, all of the color drained from Genma's face at the mention of his master's name. Very quickly, he leapt up and put his hand over Ranma's mouth. "Shh, boy! Don't say that name too loud. He may hear you." Genma looked around suspiciously, making sure that MegaHentai didn't make an entrance. Ranma likewise hoped that Happosai was still sealed in that mountain cave that his father and Mr. Tendo had trapped him in all those years ago.  
  
He then glared at his father, breaking free of his grip and shouting, "I've made a man out of myself through a lot of effort and a whole lot of suffering, old man. I deserve everything I've got because I fought *hard* for it, and there's no way I'm going to let you call me unworthy! If you want to look at the person who dishonored the family, look at yourself!" Genma didn't speak, choosing instead to simply stare up at his son as he continued to rant. "Had you asked, I would have loved to train *here* with you, instead of going off on some damned fool idealistic crusade. Obviously training here was good enough for Ranko, so it should've been good enough for me!" Ranma gestured to himself with his open hands. "I like martial arts. I've trained for awhile in it, and I know I'm good! So don't think that I'm gonna take any crap from you about my skill. Martial Arts is my life, whether you like it or not!"  
  
"Ranma, I never knew. Why didn't you tell me, boy?" Genma asked, dumbfounded.  
  
He searched his mind frantically for a good answer. Obviously *he* couldn't have told his father sooner. Technically, he just got here, so he decided to guess. "Well, if you hadn't been so dead set against me being a martial artist, and listened to me instead of yourself then this wouldn't have happened."  
  
Genma sat still for several long minutes, his face mirroring the war of emotions playing out within him. "I ... don't know what to say, boy. I guess I've been wrong about you all these years. You have grown up to be a man among men, as I always hoped you would," Genma declared, looking at his son anew, a smile slowly forming on his face. "You do your father, indeed the whole family, proud." He stood up. "I'm sorry for striking at you like that, son. You and your sister are both great successors to the Saotome School." He extended his hand, which Ranma slowly accepted. The handshake turned into a hug, as Genma pulled his son to him. Soon both men were pounding the hell out of each other on the back.  
  
****  
  
  
Ranko bounded down the stairs as fast as her young legs would carry her, yelling aloud. "MOM! Pop and Ranma are fighting!" Nodoka rounded the corner and collided with Ranko as she reached the bottom of the staircase. She grabbed Ranko by the shoulders and looked at her. "Calm down, dear. Now tell me again what you were saying."  
  
Ranko pointed to the training hall. "Didn't you hear them? They're fighting!"  
  
Nodoka sighed before answering. "Yes Ranko, I heard them."  
  
"Why aren't you doing anything about it?!" she shrieked.  
  
"Ranko. I already told your brother that he would have to suffer the consequences of practicing martial arts behind his father's back. I told him that I wouldn't intervene, and I'm not going to," she said sternly. Nodoka wasn't feeling what she was saying, however. She was torn between honoring a promise she made to her son, and making sure that her little boy was alright.  
  
Ranko shook her head. "Mom! It's not Ranma that I'm worried about."  
  
That got Nodoka's attention. "What? I don't understand..."  
  
Ranko grabbed her mother's hands and took them off of her shoulders. "Listen, mom. Ranma's a LOT better at martial arts than you think he is. I can't really explain why he's as good as he is, but that's the case. And if he and Pop are really fighting out there, then I have a bad feeling that Pop could be in a lot of danger if Ranma gets mad."  
  
"Now Ranko, I know you feel that you're good at martial arts, but..." Nodoka said in a condescending voice.  
  
"Mom! Stop that! Yes, I'm proud of the training I gave Ranma, but what I'm trying to tell you is that he already knew martial arts in the first place. What I did was no more than spar with him and teach him what tricks I knew."  
  
Nodoka's eyes widened. Ranko may have had a reason to deceive her concerning Ranma's abilities, but she doubted that her daughter was lying to her. Genma might really be in danger if Ranma was as skilled as Ranko was hinting at. And knowing her husband's penchant for pissing her son off, she made a quick decision. "Alright, let's go see what they're doing." The two women rushed for the back door, hoping to avert a disaster.  
  
****  
  
  
Both Saotome men stood in silence for a few moments.  
  
"Pop, I gotta tell you something," Ranma finally said, breaking the tension.  
  
"What is it, boy?"  
  
'Here goes everything. I sure hope he takes *this* part better than the last part about my training...' Ranma took a deep breath before he continued. "I'm going to the Tendo Dojo. I intend to keep intact the promise you made to Mr. Tendo," Ranma proclaimed proudly. He turned to walk from the training hall.  
  
Genma held his arm out, stopping Ranma from leaving. "Ranma, I'm afraid I can't let you do that."  
  
Impatience showed on Ranma's face as he turned back to face his father. "POP?! Why not? It's something that I *want* to do," Ranma yelled. 'Why the hell is he trying to stop me from going?'  
  
"Well Ranma, I understand why you don't know this part of the story. It's a family secret, one that only your mother and I know." He sat on the mats, and urged Ranma to do the same. "Just hear me out boy," he said, noting his son's reluctance to sit. Ranma nodded then slowly sat down.  
  
Genma breathed deeply and exhaled slowly. He paused for awhile, then spoke. "You see, you were right when you said that Soun and I made that promise all those years ago. However, when you made that decision not to go on any more training journeys with me, I broke off the agreement, claiming that I had no son worthy of marrying off. He took offense with me for doing it, and claimed that I had soiled the Tendo name by acting so dishonorably as to break an agreement between friends."  
  
Genma sighed, hating to have to dredge up such painful memories. "Ever since that day he has refused to speak to any of us. He's even pushed me away violently on the occasions when I came in person to try and make amends." Genma's look darkened as he continued. "And if I know Soun, he's probably already made other arrangements to keep his family honor intact. You're probably too late, boy. I'm sorry."  
  
Ranma's face flushed with white-hot rage as parts of the puzzle finally clicked into place. "Kuno, of course! *God Dammit!* Why didn't I see it before?! No wonder Akane was so depressed! Pop, I gotta get over there!" Ranma clenched his fists and looked to the training hall door. He *HAD* to get to Akane!  
  
Genma leaned forward and grabbed his son by the arms, shaking him slightly. "Ranma, didn't you just hear me? If he finds out you're my son, he'll probably try to kill you!" he said, hoping to reason with him.  
  
"Pop, it's a risk I've gotta take. You're gonna have to trust me on this one," Ranma said as he wriggled out of his father's grasp and sprinted out of the training hall.  
  
Genma ran to the door of the training hall in time to see his son effortlessly *vault* to the roof of the house. Unable to stop him, he decided to encourage him. "Good luck son!" he shouted to his departing shadow, watching him leap from rooftop to rooftop.  
  
****  
  
  
Nodoka watched in consternation as she saw Ranma being chased by Genma out of the training hall. 'Damn!' She and Ranko then abruptly stopped running and stood in the yard, slack jawed. Both women craned their necks as they watched Ranma *vault* up to the roof of the house and then sprint out of view, jumping from rooftop to rooftop.  
  
"You weren't kidding about Ranma's abilities, were you dear?" Nodoka deadpanned as she continued to stare at where her son had just been.  
  
Ranko ignored the question as she closed her gaping mouth, and turned her angry gaze on her father. She advanced angrily on him, clocking him on the head as she yelled, "What did you do to Ranma?!"  
  
His face showed an honestly surprised look as he regarded his daughter. "Uhh... what Ranko?"  
  
"PAY ATTENTION!" she yelled, clouting him on the head again. "What did you do to *Ranma*?!" she yelled, balling her hands into fists and adopting a fighting stance. She'd just gotten to like her brother, and she wasn't about to let her father get away with running him off.  
  
"Oh no you two! One fight a night is quite enough," Nodoka commanded sternly from behind Ranko, placing a hand on her daughter's shoulder. The look she gave them brooked no contradiction, causing them to subside quickly.  
  
"Yes mom..."  
  
"Yes dear..."  
  
"There, that's better." She turned to her husband. "Now, could you tell me what just happened here, Genma?"  
  
He frowned, knowing that Nodoka wasn't going to like what he had to say. "Let's go inside, first. You'll need to be sitting down when you hear this." He guided the two women from the training hall, closing the doors to the hall before following them into the house.  
  
****  
  
  
Ranma jumped down from his rooftop sprinting, having lost his way. 'Damn, I'm beginning to feel like Ryouga,' he thought as he approached a street vendor selling okonomiyaki from a dingy yatai. He wasn't able to find a street sign or any other discernible landmark, so he decided to approach the street cook and ask him where he was.  
  
"Ahh, excuse me?" Ranma asked.  
  
The cook finished flipping the okonomiyaki on his griddle before turning to speak to Ranma. "Yes sir, can I help you?"  
  
Ranma had to concentrate hard on ignoring the smell of the cooking treats. They were calling back memories of Ucchan, and he didn't need that sort of distraction at the moment. "Uhh, yeah. I'm trying to find out what street this is."  
  
The cook chuckled slightly, saying, "Well sir, I doubt I can help you there. I know my routes by way of landmarks, so I don't know what street this is since I don't pay attention to street signs."  
  
Crestfallen, Ranma looked for another person to talk to on the street, but wasn't able to see anyone else nearby. The cook served up the completed okonomiyaki on a plate and pushed it in Ranma's direction. "Here you go son, on the house."  
  
"Oh sir, thank you but I couldn't..." Ranma said, smiling at the offer.  
  
"That's alright, son. Take it. I have to cook one every now and again to keep the griddle properly seasoned. If you don't eat it, I'll have to throw it out."  
  
Ranma acquiesced and accepted the offered food. The cook smiled as Ranma ate. "So, what brings you out at this time of the night, sir?"  
  
Ranma swallowed, then answered. "I'm trying to get to someone. The damn thing is that I thought I knew the way to her place."  
  
The cook cocked an eyebrow and smiled. "Her, eh? You meeting a girlfriend?"  
  
Ranma flushed, having not intended to let that slip. "Yeah, I guess you can call her that."  
  
"Oh, you having problems with the young lady?" the cook asked inquisitively.  
  
Ranma didn't really want to say anything more, but he decided that he'd feel better if he discussed it with someone. "Well, yeah I guess. She acts like I'm not around, you know?" The cook nodded his head. "Besides, I think she's already involved with someone else."  
  
Ranma took another bite of the okonomiyaki. The cook smiled and said, "Well, that sounds like a lot for someone so young to be concerned about. Is this lady friend of yours worth all of the trouble you're going through?"  
  
"Yes, she is. She has no idea what I would do for her." Ranma fumbled about, trying to find the right way to say what he felt. "You see, it's not my desire that I'm worried about. I can't seem to find the proper way to approach her." He sighed, "And there's her father to worry about, too. Something tells me that he and I aren't going to exactly hit it off."  
  
"Well, if you want my honest opinion sir, I feel that anything is possible as long as a person's commitment is true and his intentions are both honest and honorable. You strike me as being that type of person, so you shouldn't worry. Just let things happen and react to them, instead of anticipating every possibility. Life's too short for someone so young to have so much troubling him." He patted Ranma on the shoulder, smiling. "You'll see what I mean someday."  
  
Ranma guessed he did, and felt better for the discussion. He also felt a *lot* more determined and focused. He finished off the okonomiyaki and thanked the cook. "You've been a big help. Now if only I could find the Tendo dojo from here," he said to himself.  
  
"Oh, is that all?" The cook pointed over Ranma's shoulder and said, "It's two blocks in that direction."  
  
"How?! ... " he asked, an incredulous look on his face.  
  
"I pass by it every day," the cook said by way of explanation as he began packing things up. "And now, I have to go to another location. It's almost time for shift change at the factory. Have a good evening sir. And good luck with the lady friend!"  
  
"Thanks!" Ranma shouted as he headed in the direction indicated by the cook. As Ranma faded out of view, the cook smiled to himself.  
  
"You're almost there Saotome. Don't blow it now," the cook said, snapping his fingers to reveal a white leisure suit. Another snap of the fingers and both he and the yatai disappeared from the street corner.  
  
****  
  
  
Genma sat at the opposite end of the table from Nodoka and Ranko. Both women had slightly angered expressions on their faces, and were growing impatient with his stalling. "Well, we're waiting," Nodoka finally said.  
  
Genma sighed, accepting his fate. "Well, it went like this... I confronted Ranma about his use of Anything Goes. He told me that not only did he know Anything Goes, but he had been practicing it for quite a while. Naturally I was shocked, so I asked him who taught him."  
  
Nodoka blanched, knowing that Genma was one of only two people that could readily teach Ranma the style of Anything Goes martial arts. "Genma, it *couldn't* have been Soun, could it?" She could hardly believe she was even saying it.  
  
Genma shook his head slowly, and leaned forward on the table a bit. Carefully he mouthed the word 'Happosai.' Nodoka's eyes widened considerably as she read the name from Genma's lips. He fell backwards from the table as she reacted to his answer.  
  
"HAPPOSAI?!!" she yelled in a pained voice. "How the... mmmf!" She couldn't get another word out of her mouth as Genma had rather quickly crawled around the table and covered her lips with his hands.  
  
Ranko had been watching the exchange as if it were a tennis match. She quickly pushed herself out of her mother's way as she yelled, then watched with a mixture of confusion and humor as Genma tried to gag his wife with one of his hands. Seeing a lull in the proceedings, she raised her hand. "Mom, who are you talking about. Who's this 'Soun' person? And who is Happosai?" Ranko already knew from Ranma who Soun was, but wasn't going to give that away to her parents.  
  
Both Genma and Nodoka stared wide-eyed at Ranko. She shrank back a bit from their intense scrutiny. "SHHHHHH!!!!!" they both said quickly.  
  
"Geez folks! All I said was 'Happosai!' " Ranko shot back with some irritation.  
  
"DON'T SAY THAT AGAIN!!" both parents shot back in unison. Nodoka calmed herself before continuing. "Ranko, trust us when we tell you this. That word is *very* bad, and we don't want to hear you say it *ever* again," she commanded sternly, staring Ranko in the eye.  
  
Ranko held her hands up. "Okay okay okay. Geez!"  
  
Nodoka sat back and swiveled her position to look directly at Genma. "Now then, you were saying, dear."  
  
Genma sweat nervously, realizing that he was now within easy strangling distance of his wife. Deciding that not moving was infinitely safer than trying to get away from his wife at the moment, he slumped his shoulders in defeat and plunged ahead with his story. "Ranma knows about the promise..."  
  
Nodoka thought for a moment. "Which pro..." Her gaze hardened as she realized what Genma was talking about. "You mean that damned promise you two drunkards made after Ranma was born?!" Genma nodded, and she rolled her eyes in disgust. "How did he find out about... No, never mind; let me guess. That hentai, right?"  
  
Genma nodded. "That's what he told me."  
  
"Well, now Ranma knows. What does that have to do with anything?" she asked dismissively.  
  
Genma swallowed. "Well, that's why Ranma left..." he began weakly.  
  
Nodoka slapped her hand on the table, startling both her husband and her daughter. "Dammit Genma, stop being evasive and tell me what in the *hell's* going on!" she demanded angrily.  
  
"Ranma said that he knew about the promise to marry him to one of Soun's daughters..."  
  
"and..." Nodoka prodded.  
  
"And he's gone over to the Tendo dojo to talk to Soun about it. That's where he was going just as you two walked out into the yard." Nodoka's eyes flashed as she comprehended what this meant for her son. Genma noted her agitated look and grabbed her arms, turning her to face him eye to eye. "Nodoka, dear. I tried to talk sense into him. I even tried to stop him from leaving the training hall, but he wouldn't hear of it. He kept saying that he had to get over there immediately, and wouldn't listen to me."  
  
Unseen by either parent, Ranko's eyes widened. 'Damn! I didn't think that Ranma would try to do this *tonight!*' Saying nothing, she resumed watching her parents argue.  
  
"Well, we have no choice. We'll have to go to Soun's place and stop Ranma." she stated flatly.  
  
"No we won't!" Genma yelled angrily, stopping her from saying anything more. "Ranma has made his choice, and it's our duty as parents to respect that choice," he declared.  
  
"Genma, now is *not* the time to start prattling on about that. You know that Ranma's no match for Soun. How could you just let him go over there like that?" Nodoka spat angrily.  
  
Genma's expression softened. "Nodoka, if we *didn't* let him go, he'd never have forgiven us."  
  
"Well that may be the case, but at least he'd still be alive!" she shouted back in frustration.  
  
"WHAT?!" Ranko shrieked. "What do you mean, 'still alive?' What the hell's happening to Ranma?"  
  
Nodoka groaned, forgetting that her daughter was still sitting next to her. Genma looked to her, his voice growing comforting. "Don't worry about Ranma, honey. I have faith in him..." He turned to look at his wife. "..and so should you," he ground out, directing the last part of the statement to his wife. "There's nothing we can do to help. All we can do is wait," he declared finally.  
  
The Saotome women sighed, acknowledging Genma's point. "Fine we'll wait. But Ranma'd better come back safely."  
  
Genma took his upset wife in his arms, cradling her to him. "Don't worry dear. He'll be just fine." He kissed her lightly on the forehead, and squeezed her shoulders comfortingly.  
  
Ranko stood up and ran to her room, not bothering to hide her tears. She felt sure that Ranma knew what he was doing, but even with that she couldn't shake the feeling that he was in real danger. She entered her room and slid the door shut behind her. Flopping down on her bed, she gathered the pillows up in her arms and cried loudly into them.  
  
****  
  
  
Ranma finally arrived at the gates of the Tendo Hall. He looked over his shoulder, and saw that the damaged wall from his last encounter with Kuno had been repaired. Twice he tried to bring his hand up to open the gate and approach the house. 'Dammit! I can't be nervous now!' he thought angrily. He steeled himself and bravely marched through the gate and approached the house. Seeing lights on, he knocked at the front door and awaited an answer.  
  
Kasumi opened the door and regarded Ranma with a smile. "Yes, may I help you?"  
  
Ranma decided to act like he didn't know any of them, and merely replied. "Yes ma'am. I'm looking for a Mr. Soun Tendo. Is he here?"  
  
Kasumi smiled and said, "Yes he is. He's in our dojo. You can wait in the den to speak with him, or go to the dojo if you wish." She indicated the dojo entrance with her hand.  
  
Ranma smiled and said, "Thank you. I'll talk with him in the dojo. You've been most helpful..."  
  
"Kasumi," she answered, bowing slightly.  
  
"Thank you, Kasumi." He turned and walked in the direction of the dojo, leaving Kasumi at the door.  
  
"My, what a nice young man," she commented as she slid the door closed and returned to the kitchen.  
  
****  
  
  
Ranma approached the dojo. Once at the entrance, he concealed himself from view, and watched in amazement as Soun went through a few katas. 'Wow! I never knew Akane's old man had it in him. He's really good at this,' Ranma thought as he watched the Kenpo instructor go through his moves. When Soun finished, Ranma stepped up to the entrance of the dojo and cleared his throat.  
  
Soun looked up and waved for Ranma to enter the dojo. "Hello son. Are you interested in taking a course?"  
  
"Not really, Mr. Tendo. I needed to see you about something really important," Ranma said cautiously, making sure he stayed on his guard as he walked into the dojo.  
  
"Well, what can I help you with son?" Soun asked, folding his arms in front of his chest.  
  
Ranma decided to plunge ahead, consequences be damned. "Well, I'm here to honor a debt to your family, Mr. Tendo. You see, my name is Ranma Saotome..."  
  
Soun's face grew severe, and his arms dropped to his sides. "Ranma Saotome? Not Saotome as in Genma Saotome?"  
  
"Yes sir, one and the same," Ranma replied simply.  
  
Soun's cold look turned to a mask of iron-hot rage. "How DARE a Saotome disgrace my dojo with his presence?" he spluttered, assuming an attack stance. "Get the hell out of here before I hurt you, boy!"  
  
Ranma was going to play it cool, right up to the point where Soun used the words 'Saotome' and 'disgrace' in the same sentence. Now he was pissed, and he showed it. "Shelve the attitude, Mr. Tendo. I didn't come here to fight you, only to talk," Ranma spat.  
  
"Well a fight's what you're gonna get if you don't leave, *now!*" Soun shouted, his fists shaking in rage.  
  
"I have no intention of leaving until we talk, Mr. Tendo," Ranma said coldly, resigning himself to a fight with his former, and possibly future, father-in-law.  
  
Soun eyed his opponent, a sneer forming on his face. "Well, if you're so eager to fight, I'll oblige you. HA!" And with that he charged at the shocked youth.  
  
Ranma swore to himself. He had a lot of respect for Mr. Tendo, and didn't like the idea of having to fight him. However, if it was the only way that he'd be able to get to the bottom of this, then it was something that he had to do. Ranma lifted his arms up in a defensive stance at Soun's cry and the battle was joined.  
  
****  
  
  
The two combatants had fought for twenty hard minutes, and the dojo was suffering for it. Soun had not been able to land any real blows on Ranma, and on occasion missed him altogether to hit the wall or ceiling instead. Holes in wall panels and cracked building supports gave evidence of a fierce battle that, should it continue much further, would literally bring the house down.  
  
Ranma wasn't able to concentrate on the condition of the dojo at the moment, as he was fighting harder than he ever thought he'd have to. Soun's prowess was surprising, and much more advanced than what Ranma had encountered in his 'other existence.' As he dodged punch after punch, his ears detected a faint creaking. Looking up, he saw a thick section of the rafter break loose and fall directly towards Soun's position. Not wanting anything to happen to Akane's dad, Ranma blocked a final punch from Soun, then landed one of his own, sending him sprawling out of harm's way.  
  
Then he concentrated with all of his might on the plummeting beam. "MOUKO TAKABISHA!" he yelled, lashing out at the large piece of wood with a powerful burst of chi energy. The force of the energy burst emitted from his hands turned the beam into sawdust, and soon it was snowing wood flakes in the dojo. Ranma collapsed to his knees, gasping in the dusty air.  
  
Soun sat with his mouth open. Never had he seen someone so accomplished in Anything Goes before. 'Genma has indeed trained his son well,' he thought, before his anger caught up with his admiration of Ranma's prowess. 'Genma! How dare he say that he has no son worthy to marry one of my daughters, and then train his boy to this level of expertise!? This is an absolute insult!' Soun thought as he stood, an indignant look on his face. He wasn't going to fight Ranma again, not after seeing what he was capable of doing. But that didn't mean that he had to share the same floor space with the boy.  
  
****  
  
  
Kasumi was chopping some vegetables for the evening meal when she thought she heard some shouting coming from the dojo.  
  
Unsure, she lay her utensils down on the counter and walked to the window and listened. Not hearing anything, she went up to Nabiki's room. She knocked. Getting no response, she slid the door open and peeked her head inside. Kasumi could see her younger sister laying on her bed, reading and listening to her stereo with headphones. "Nabiki!" she shouted.  
  
Her sister started at the shout and pulled her headphones off of her head. "Yeah, what is it Kasumi?"  
  
"You didn't hear anyone shouting just a moment ago, did you?"  
  
"Nope. I've been in here, reading. Why? Is there a problem?" Nabiki looked at her older sister but wasn't getting anything from her body language. It was so hard trying to read Kasumi that Nabiki had given up on it long ago.  
  
"No, not really. I probably imagined it that's all. Don't worry about it," Kasumi said cheerily, smiling her beautiful smile.  
  
Nabiki shrugged her shoulders. "Okay, Sis. By the way, is Akane home yet?"  
  
"No, she hasn't returned from her date with Kuno yet."  
  
Nabiki grimaced. "Kasumi, do you really have to call it a date?"  
  
Kasumi frowned uncharacteristically. "I suppose not, although that is what Kuno was calling it."  
  
Nabiki rolled her eyes. "Torture's more like it." She sighed. "Poor little sister. She sure looked sad when she left."  
  
"Well, it *was* her choice."  
  
"It still stinks, Kasumi."  
  
"We shouldn't worry. I have a feeling that Akane will be alright."  
  
Nabiki snorted. "Yeah, only if a miracle happens." She then donned her earphones again and resumed her reading of Malcolm Forbes Jr's biography.  
  
Kasumi left Nabiki's room and returned to the kitchen to finish the meal. She tried to resume cooking, but kept getting distracted by worrying over her youngest sister. Dropping her utensils to the side, she wiped her hands on her apron and sighed. 'I hope Akane's going to be okay.'  
  
****  
  
  
Seeing Soun turn to leave, Ranma turned to him and said, "Mr. Tendo, wait! We have to talk!"  
  
"Why should I listen to you, after all that your family has done to me?" Soun yelled, half wailing.  
  
Ranma decided to call in a debt, "Because I saved your life." Seeing Soun's incredulous look, Ranma nodded. "Yup! You would've died if I hadn't taken out that beam, Mr. Tendo." Ranma's look softened a bit, "Look Mr. Tendo, all I ask is that you listen to me."  
  
Soun's shoulders slumped in defeat. He'd have to honor the boy's request, so he sat on the floor of the dojo, and stared at Ranma with a blank expression on his face, "Very well, go ahead."  
  
Ranma turned the creative engine on again, as he pieced together a story that Soun would believe. "Well, you see Mr. Tendo, my father was correct in what he told you. At the time he broke off the engagement, I wasn't really worthy of marrying any of your daughters and carrying on the Anything Goes school. However when I grew older I trained hard and quickly, and learned the art. I realized that I wanted to make my family proud of me." Which was mostly true, although the facts were twisted a bit.  
  
Soun looked at him and asked, "So when did Genma start to train you, Ranma?"  
  
Ranma decided to stick with the same story he told his dad. "Actually, Mr. Tendo, Pop didn't train me."  
  
Soun's eyes widened, "Really? Then who trained you?"  
  
"Well, you see, until recently, Pop and I weren't really getting along. He thought me a disgrace to the family, and refused to train me. He trained my sister Ranko instead. So I turned to the only other person skilled at Anything Goes." Seeing Soun blanch, he nodded, "Yup, that's right. I got my training from Happosa...mfff!"  
  
Soun jumped over to Ranma, and in an imitation of Genma's reaction to Nodoka, whipped his hand over Ranma's mouth. He struggled for a bit under Soun's grasp before relenting. "Don't say that name around here, Ranma. You might draw him to the dojo," he hissed hysterically, then released him.  
  
"I wouldn't worry too much about that, Mr. Tendo. I have a feeling that he's not going to come around. Not for the moment at least. You shouldn't have any problems with him." 'I hope,' Ranma added to himself.  
  
Soun exhaled loudly, obviously relieved. Suddenly he eyed Ranma, asking, "Just what all did you learn from Hap... the master?"  
  
Ranma's eyes narrowed at the question. "Well I didn't pick up that hentai's appetite for panties and bras, if that's your concern," he deadpanned.  
  
Soun sighed in relief again and stood away from Ranma. "Was that all you wanted to tell me?" he asked formally.  
  
Ranma sighed in relief, believing the worst was over. He collected his wits for the next part. "No Mr. Tendo, there's more. As I've already told you, I know about the promise that you and Pop had concerning marrying me to one of your daughters."  
  
"I'm sure Genma told you this, right?" Soun asked acidly.  
  
Again sticking to the story he told his father, "No sir, I found this out from Hap... the master while training." Ranma stood and began pacing the floor of the trashed dojo, kicking up sawdust with every step. "I will admit that I was honestly upset that a marriage had been arranged for me without my consent. But I was equally shocked to learn that the agreement had been broken. In fact, it wasn't until this evening that I learned of why the engagement was broken."  
  
Soun hung his head low, tears streaming down his face. "It was a great shame to my family the day your father broke that agreement. I had such plans for the both of our families. I had really looked forward to the day when our families would be joined."  
  
A large bead of sweat hung from his head, as Ranma realized that his wish had caused all of this to happen (or not happen, depending on your perspective). He tried to make the best of the situation. In Soun Tendo's words he saw a possibility to mend the rift between the two families, and proceeded with caution. "Mr. Tendo, my father has regretted that day, and has wanted to apologize to you for it on several occasions."  
  
Soun looked over at him, and laughed with a touch of bitterness. "Well, Ranma. You see, it's not that easy. A simple apology just won't do. It'll take a lot more than that to satisfy the honor of my family. For example, when your father broke off the marriage plans, I had to keep the Tendo family honor intact. So I scouted Nerima for many years looking for a substitute of good ability who would be willing to marry one of my daughters. Only recently was I able to find someone who took an interest in my youngest daughter, Akane."  
  
"Tatewaki Kuno," Ranma ground out, his hands balling into fists.  
  
"Ahh, so you've heard of him. Well, while no formal announcement of their engagement has been made, the proposal was accepted by him on behalf of his family." Soun sighed, knowing that the arrangement was of little comfort.  
  
Ranma shook his head, not wanting to hear it. "But don't you see, Mr. Tendo, that's why I've come here!" He spread his arms out, almost pleading. "I want to keep the promise you and my Pop made. I *want* to be with one of your daughters!"  
  
Soun's eyes lit up, and the beginnings of a desperate smile creased his face. "You aren't joking about this, are you son?"  
  
Ranma gave him his most solemn look, "No sir, it's no joke. But there is a complication."  
  
"Complication?" Soun asked, getting upset again.  
  
"Well, you see, I'm familiar with all three of your daughters. I've been keeping my eye on them for awhile now. And while I'd be very happy with Kasumi, and Nabiki would be an ... interesting wife, it's Akane who really interests me." Ranma looked Soun in the eye. "Please Mr. Tendo! You *have* to tell me that there's a way to break off that arrangement between Akane and Kuno!" he shouted, a touch of desperation creeping into his voice.  
  
Soun's brow creased. "The arrangement between the Kuno family and ours has always been on shaky ground. Plus, Akane isn't too happy with the arrangement herself. Kuno has even made it worse by boasting that anyone who bests him in combat will win Akane from him. That arrogant bastard..." Looking towards the house and his daughters, he continued. "Ranma, if you were to defeat Kuno, and rescue Akane from that arrangement, I would happily consent to your engagement."  
  
Ranma's mind backpedaled as old feelings of refusal and resistance hit. 'Whoa! Why am I feeling so resistant all of a sudden? Isn't this what I've been wanting since I got here?' he thought as he tried to come up with something to say. Finally he forced a smile on his face, saying, "Let's take things one step at a time, Mr. Tendo. I like Akane, but I feel it's better if she knows me before another engagement is sprung on her. Besides, she might not... like ... me."  
  
Ranma paused, having not ever considered that before. 'What if she doesn't like me? It'd kill me to be chasing after her, only to find out that I'm not wanted.' He banished the thought from his mind, not wanting to dwell on something as depressing as that.  
  
Soun put his hand on Ranma's shoulder, watching the young man's face. "You're right, of course. We'll worry about getting Kuno out of the way first. The rest can come later."  
  
"Mr. Tendo, one more thing. Will you promise to sit down and talk to my father if I beat Kuno?" Ranma pressed, hoping to reunite the two families.  
  
Soun 'hmmmed' for a bit, considering his response. His hopes were being raised by some kid who came out of nowhere and was promising him more than he'd ever hoped for; so he was still a little wary. "Very well," he said at length." "I'll talk to Genma if you win... It's a deal." He shook Ranma's hand hesitantly. "We'll keep this to ourselves for now, son. I don't want to risk getting my little girls upset with me."  
  
Ranma snorted, knowing how bad upsetting the Tendo sisters can be. "Yes, Mr. Tendo. I understand." He looked around, noticing the damage for the first time. "Oops! Sorry I made such a mess of the place."  
  
"Quite alright, Ranma. If everything works out as you and I have planned, the damage to the dojo would have been well worth it." More creaking coming from the beams in the walls and roof caught their attention, and both looked to the door.  
  
Ranma took that as his cue to leave. "Good night, Mr. Tendo. I won't disappoint you." And with that he sprinted out of the dojo, through the gate, and headed homeward.  
  
Soun watched the departing youth with a nostalgic smile, Ranma's enthusiasm dampening down years of bitterness and anger. He got out a broom and swept up what he could, figuring that he and Nabiki could tally up the damage cost in the morning.  
  
****  
  
  
Forty minutes after the fight had ended, Ranma ran through the front door of his home. 'At least I'm getting better at finding my way around this side of town. Geez! Why did Pop have to find a place so far from the Tendo Dojo?' he thought as he removed his shoes and stepped into the living room. "Tadaima!" he shouted triumphantly as he entered.  
  
Ranma staggered backwards a bit as a double-barreled hug from his mother and Ranko hammered him. He put his arms around the women and returned the hug as best he could. Nodoka stood away from Ranma a bit and put a hand up, caressing his face in a motherly fashion. "Oh thank God my baby's safe!" she said in a half-sighing, half-proud voice.  
  
Ranma smiled. "Yeah, Mom. I'm alright." He put his free arm around his sister. "Hey Ranko, you okay?"  
  
Ranko looked up at her brother with eyes red from crying. "You had us all worried, Ranma!" she yelled, not unkindly. "Pop told me all about the Tendos and what you were up against. I... I was afraid you weren't coming back..." She started crying again, burying her head in his chest and wrapping him in a crushing hug.  
  
Uncomfortable with his sister crying, Ranma simply put his hand on her head, stroked her hair and held onto her while she cried on his chest. Nodoka's look became reprimanding as Ranma faced her again. "Why did you do something as reckless as that, Ranma? Your father told you the risks, and yet you went ahead and did it anyway. Why? And how many more surprises were you planning on springing on the family today, anyway?"  
  
Ranma regarded her with a no-nonsense look on his face. "Mom, I already explained myself to Pop concerning the martial arts. I am a martial artist, and I'm proud of it. I intend to make my mark with the Saotome name. As for going to the Tendo Dojo, well it was something that I had to do. Besides, I know I can take care of myself. Mr. Tendo wasn't a problem once I convinced him that fighting me was a bad thing." Ranma winced at the memory of the marathon fight. "He decided to listen to me, and we talked for awhile."  
  
"Well we never had to concern ourselves with you getting into fights before," Nodoka chided. "We were worried, son."  
  
"Yeah, well I'm sorry if I worried you, but I felt that this had gone on long enough. Something had to be done, so I did it," Ranma said simply.  
  
Genma looked at him expectantly, hope in his eyes. "You said you talked with Soun. What did he say, Ranma?"  
  
"Well Pop, he told me pretty much the same thing you did concerning the promise you two made. He said he was upset that the promise had been broken, and didn't want to see another Saotome ever again. I told him that I was there to try to set things right between the two families. At first he didn't want to believe me, and I had a terrible time trying to convince him that I wasn't kidding. He didn't start taking me seriously until I told him that I wanted to marry one of his three daughters."  
  
Nodoka gasped in shock. "Ranma, you didn't?!" she asked in a shocked voice.  
  
Ranma would've answered, but Ranko's grip on him had tightened. "Ranma, you're getting *married?* That's so cool!" Her face was split by a wide grin. She released him, which let him breathe again. "So when's the wedding date?"  
  
Ranma placed a hand against his aching ribs, quickly developing a new appreciation for his sister's strength. "Don't get upset Mom! No wedding date has been set. I haven't even *proposed* to anyone yet!" Nodoka breathed a *big* sigh of relief after hearing that.  
  
Ranko's brow furrowed as she listened to her older brother. "I don't get it. You said you wanted to marry one of Mr. Tendo's daughters, and now you're backing off? Do you at least have any idea who it is you're interested in?"  
  
Ranma smiled inwardly, grateful that his sister wasn't spilling anything from their previous conversation. "Well, I know which girl it is that I prefer. There's a catch, of course. Mr. Tendo had her betrothed to Tatewaki Kuno in order to return honor to the Tendo family." Ranma regarded Genma, "I guess you were right about Mr. Tendo, Pop. He told me that if I was going to have any chance at Akane being my fiancee, I'd have to have to defeat Kuno in an open challenge."  
  
Nodoka gasped, not wanting her son to have to fight again. "Ranma, if you're so set on marrying one of Soun's daughters, why go through all of the trouble of fighting for one of them when there are two others that are still available? What's so special about Akane, son?"  
  
Ranma considered the question. Indeed, why was Akane so special to him? He couldn't give a hard and fast answer. But he knew, in his heart, that life wouldn't be complete without her. He chuckled to himself. 'Man, this is weird! Only a month or so ago I would've denied everything I just thought and said. I guess I really do care about her.' "Mom, you're going to have to trust me on this one. I know a lot more about Akane than I do Nabiki or Kasumi. I'd feel most comfortable being with her."  
  
Nodoka shelved the question she had about how he knew the Tendo daughters, and how he had been able to make a decision about them. Instead, she put her hand to her head and sighed, "Oh God... I have to sit down." Genma directed her to a mat where she could do just that. After seating herself, she looked up to her son with a slightly pleading look. "Ranma, why did you make this sudden decision to pursue Akane Tendo? I mean, I'm glad you've taken an interest in women, but don't you think you're rushing things a bit? Marriage is an awfully big step for you to be taking, son."  
  
"Mom, I'll tell you the same thing I told Mr. Tendo. I'm not looking for an immediate marriage to Akane. Besides, I'm not even sure that she'll like me at all, much less want to marry me. In fact, that is one of the conditions I placed on the engagement." Seeing the puzzled faces, he continued to explain. "I told Mr. Tendo that I wasn't about to force Akane into another engagement. She's already upset that she was pushed into marrying Kuno. I told him, and he agreed, that Akane and I should date and see if we had anything in common before anything became final. I also told him that we shouldn't tell Akane about our conversation for a while."  
  
"But you still haven't told me *why* you chose now to do this, or why you wanted to do it at all," Nodoka pushed. "Genma didn't put you up to doing this, did he?" she asked, a suspicious glint in her eyes.  
  
Genma spluttered indignantly, but didn't say anything. "Of course he didn't, Mom," Ranma said, coming to his father's rescue. "I'm sixteen now. For a while now I've been thinking that I should be doing something more with my life than playing with my friends. After I was trained by Hap.." Genma and Nodoka eyed him harshly, "err... the master in Anything Goes, I felt that I was ready to make a name for myself."  
  
Ranma's eyes widened as he looked at a clock on the wall, realizing that he was going to have to get to bed now if he wanted to be in shape for the challenge tomorrow. "Mom, Dad, thanks for waiting up for me. I need to get to bed now; I'm tired." He ran upstairs to his room, leaving a speechless family in his wake.  
  
"Yeah, Ranma's right. I'd better get to bed too. I've got school tomorrow. G'nite Mom. G'nite Pop," Ranko said, kissing each parent before bounding up the stairs.  
  
After Ranko disappeared upstairs, Genma came up behind his wife, embracing her and kissing her on the back of the neck. "This has certainly been a day for surprises, hasn't it Hon?" he asked, a whimsical smile on his face.  
  
Nodoka smiled and placed her hands over her husband's. "Yes it has, dear." She leaned back, pressing herself deeper into his arms. "Genma. How do you think Ranma managed to find that old lech?"  
  
Genma scowled at the question. "Nodoka, that's one question I would rather never hear the answer to. Some things are better left unsaid. The less we speak about him, the better off the world will be."  
  
Nodoka got a sly smile on her face, thinking about the past and some of the influence Happosai had on her husband. "Genma, dear. Do you think you could show me again that 'special technique' that Happy taught you?"  
  
Genma could hear the quotation marks around those words, and grinned broadly. "Absolutely! But we'd better make sure the children are asleep first." They both laughed softly. Nodoka turned in his arms, kissing her husband on the lips. "I love you, dear," she said, kissing him again. Genma merely tightened his hold on his wife, happily returning the kiss.  
  
A few moments later they turned out the lights and headed upstairs.  
  
****  
  
  
At that moment, somewhere in a dark, dank cave, a sneeze was heard. The sneeze reverberated through the confines of the cave, causing small bits of dust and rock to fall from the roof. Somewhere within the cave a shifting occurred. A shaft of light pierced through the oppressive darkness, emanating from the source of the shifting. Two eyes widened in realization. "FREEDOM!!!" the form screamed, as it ran towards the light. Just shy of the light's origin, a loud *smack* was heard as the creature struck its head on a stalactite. Reaching an arm to the light, the creature managed to say one word before it passed out. "ppp...pantiessss..."  
  
****  
  
  
Ranma was preparing for bed when he heard a knock at his door. "Come in," he said brightly. The door slid open, and Ranko walked in, closing the door behind her. Seeing who it was, Ranma blushed and quickly whipped his pants in front of him, wishing he'd left his boxers on. He'd taken them off along with his pants, not really thinking about what he was doing. He castigated himself for doing it, having forgotten again that he had a sister. Ranko apparently saw everything, blushing deep red from her toes to her eyes, and her mouth was gaping open. "Oops, sorry about that Sis. I forgot."  
  
Ranko recovered quickly, smiling slightly and allowing an embarrassed chuckle to work its way free. "S'okay Ranma. It's not like I haven't seen you before. Although you look a bit different since the last time I saw..." Ranko quickly dropped her gaze to the floor, stopping herself. "Sorry, didn't realize what I was saying." Ranma blushed this time, realizing that his sister didn't mind looking at him. Changing the subject, she said, "I'm worried about you fighting Kuno tomorrow. Are you sure you can handle him?"  
  
Ranma smiled confidently. "Yeah, Ranko. He shouldn't be any problem. I feel like I've gotten my old form back. And when I lived in the other existence, I beat Kuno daily." Ranko's eyes widened when she heard that, realizing just how *good* her brother was. 'That is, if he's telling the truth,' she thought suddenly.  
  
"You're pulling my chain, Ranma. No-one's that good," she challenged.  
  
Ranma's face lost some of its cheer. "I'm not lying about this, Ranko! You're just going to have to trust me on this one."  
  
Ranko's stomach churned. Lately she had been feeling nervous whenever Ranma said 'trust me.' "I do trust you, Ranma. But you have to realize that this isn't the same Nerima you were living in before. So far you've managed to succeed by doing things the way you've always done them. The problem with that is that you're acting too confident, and I'm afraid that something's going to happen to you if you don't watch out. Just because some things look the same to you doesn't mean that they are."  
  
Ranma hadn't expected the lecture, from his younger sister no less. But he had to hand it to her, she was right. He'd been doing everything so far believing that he was the only one who had really changed. Indeed, if he wasn't careful, then Ranko's worrying would be justified. He walked to her, and put a hand on her shoulder, which was kind of hard to do while holding a pair of pants in front of him. "You're right, Ranko. I should've realized that when I saw Mr. Tendo tonight. He wasn't the same man I knew from before." He smiled. "What would I do without you?" he asked rhetorically, wrapping his arms around her.  
  
Ranko returned the hug, saying, "I'm just worried about you, that's all. Don't forget, you're the only brother I have." He had to laugh at that. Ranko stopped talking as she suddenly felt something pressing against her stomach. Her eyes narrowed in indignation as she realized what it was, turning red again. "RANMA! Put some clothes on, for chrissakes!" she yelled, turning away from him.  
  
Ranma's eyes bugged out. "Shit!" he yelled once he realized that he had pulled his pants away when he'd hugged her. While her back was turned he quickly slid them on. 'I'm gonna have to get used to having a girl around all the time,' he thought, embarrassment plain on his face. "Sorry about that Sis. Looks like I'm gonna have to learn some new habits," Ranma said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.  
  
Ranko turned back around, and sighed, relieved that Ranma wasn't 'showing off' again. Although she couldn't help but admire how 'outstanding' her brother was. She ignored her carnal inquisitiveness, pushing those thoughts of him from her mind. "Did you normally expose yourself like that at the Tendo's home?" she asked, trying to keep herself from staring at him.  
  
Ranma verged on a permanent red coloration of his face at her question. Ranko took one look at him and doubled over in laughter, her whole body shaking. Ranma stood there in his pants, an indignant look on his face. "First of all, I never thought I looked that bad. Secondly; Akane, Nabiki, and especially Kasumi, hardly ever came into my room at the Tendo place. So I never had to worry about 'exposing myself.' Besides, I was a girl half the time I was there. It wasn't a big deal for a girl to see another girl ..." Ranma broke off his explanation, since it was only adding fuel to Ranko's laughter. "I give up..." he finally said, disgusted.  
  
Ranko sank to her knees, unable to remain standing. Ranma sat on his bed, crossing his arms and tapping his foot impatiently as he waited for her to calm down. A couple of minutes later, her laughter subsided. Wiping tears from her face, she crawled on her knees over to Ranma. "I'm sorry, I just got all of these mental pictures and ..." She broke out again, but managed to subdue it quickly. "Life's definitely going to be fun with you around, Ranma."  
  
"Yeah yeah...," Ranma replied, rolling his eyes. Ranko hooked an arm around his neck and kissed him on the cheek while mussing his hair with her other hand.  
  
"Good night, Ranma. And good luck tomorrow. I'll be keeping my eye on you," she said coyly, sticking her tongue out at him. She stood and headed towards the door.  
  
Ranma held his hand to his face where his sister had kissed him. 'Uhh... yeah... Thanks," he said to her departing figure as the door closed behind her. "Do all brothers and sisters act this crazy?" he asked aloud to no-one in particular. He recalled Kodachi and Kuno, and shuddered. 'Thank God Ranko's not like her... Ugh!'  
  
He shook his head and tried his best to forget Kodachi. Taking his pants off, he put on some shorts and a T-shirt, turned off the light and went to sleep.  
  
****  
  
  
Author's notes:  
  
  
Well, here I go again. ^_^ (those of you who've read "The Prince and the Lecher" will understand that remark...) I was simply minding my own business, and reading the first two sections of the story "Be Careful What you Wish For" by Richard Beaubien. After completing that, I re-read part one, and said to myself "What if *this* happened instead of *that.*" Well I shouldn't have done that, because here I am clattering away at my IBM keyboard like a man possessed. Two days have seen me crank out 21 pages in Word for Windows, and I've still got a lot of ideas floating around in the old bean.  
  
Some people may wonder about the content (boy *that* was obtuse!). Well, as of this writing:  
  
(1/30/96):  
  
I've only gotten the groundwork laid down for this unintentional project. Ranma has made his wish, and has awakened to a strange version of his previous existence. As the writer, I made a couple of decisions as to how the wish affected him:  
  
Ranma's wish caused his environment to change. Lives were re-written and locations changed to accommodate his wish. This means that he did NOT jump to an alternate universe/dimension/plane of thought/etc. Therefore his means of escape from that existence are reduced to one, which is the second wish. The wish is supposed to be very powerful, and the intention behind the character of the vendor was that he was to be very VERY selective in who gets the wishing brooch, almost as a guardian or keeper of the artifact.  
  
Another effect of the wish was that Ranma's mind was supposed to have been altered so that he wasn't so damned infuriating and quick to fire off his mouth. A higher level of maturity was something I was trying to add into Ranma's character for this story, to help make his living in this dimension more sane. I'm debating, however, the merit of continuing to do so, as the humorous content of the story is obviously diminished when I do that. I may have him mellow out once he hits stable ground in this existence.  
  
The second wish: I'm really against him using that second wish for right now. He's got a lot of potential in this existence considering that about 85 to 90% of his antagonists and for the moment ^_^ extra fiancee's aren't around to punish him. I'm hoping for a more solid and romantic 'second chance' between Ranma and Akane. Although I will also admit that a love triangle is inevitable. In fact, the gears are already turning muahahahaha!.  
  
Incidentally, should Ranma have to use the second wish to return himself to his cursed state (and hence everything around him revert to normal), he will retain full knowledge of everything that had occurred during the first wish. If I write it past that point, I would have a fertile bed to plant new ideas for that existence as well.  
  
(2/3/96):  
  
  
Based on all of the excellent suggestions from the readers on the Fanfic ML, I have *slightly* (yeah, right!) expanded on the training footage between Ranma and Ranko. Expanding the fight between Kuno and Ranma is my next big project. I also corrected some small errors in the story that were pointed out in e-mail.  
  
(2/8/96):  
  
  
Well, since my last posting, something good has happened to me. After over three months of unemployment courtesy of AT&T, I now have a job! insert applause and self-patting-back noises here I am working as a Systems Admin. for Newberry College. That being the case, my work on "Careful Destiny" has been lacking in volume. But fear not, dearest reader, for I have not been idle. In this iteration:  
  
* Intrigue inserted (well, I hope it's intriguing ^_^;; )  
  
* Fixed some more errors pointed out by my valued readers  
  
* Typed this section up at the end of the Fanfic  
  
* Split the document into two sections to make it easier to send across the net. I have a 14.4 connection, and big chunk posts are a pain to download.  
  
(2/16/96):  
  
  
Well, Wing/Nagisa get the heads up award for this corrected version. 'They' agreed to help me with smoothing out the content of the story, and boy did they find some stuff. I retooled a fair portion of the story in accordance with their suggestions (the addition of Nodoka to Ranma's and Ranko's first day of workout being the biggest part of the update to part one).  
  
Also, I added the part about Genma explaining to Nodoka and Ranko what Ranma was doing. Furthermore, I added a small blurb to explain why none of the Tendo girls had walked in on the fight between Soun and Ranma, or had otherwise been drawn to it.  
  
Even though I've polished the scenes and dialogue, I still think it needs some smoothing out in places, but I can't really decide where. Another corrected version may be coming out as a result.  
  
I've decided to keep running tracks of my upgrades to each part of the story by establishing time-stamped author's notes for each part. I hope it helps to clear up any questions you, the reader, might have about the content.  
  
(2/22/96):  
  
  
And I thought I was finished... I have say that the ML's got some eagle-eyed people subscribed to it. Three people e-mailed me to point out various and sundry grammar, continuity, and character-relation problems. I believe that this should be the final revision for part one. I'd like to thank the following for their suggestions:  
  
Harold Ancell - He gave me a lot of information on areas that had glaring inconsistencies (problems that I didn't see until they were pointed out to me). The biggest change was to return Ranma's second practice attack on his 12th day of training to HI RYU SHO TEN HA. I'd had a lot of people questioning why I had changed it from that to SHI SHI HOUKODAN. I had changed it because I couldn't think of a way to anger a dummy so it'd get hot. But I changed it back anyway.  
  
Robin Page and Trisha L. Sebastian (AKA Foxtrot the Furryous - ^_^) - Both pointed out grammar problems that I had managed to overlook after my multitude of read-throughs. And I look forward to future 'correction collaborations' from both of them.  
  
David Bateson - He pointed out that Ranko's attitude towards her brother was too sweet in part one for a girl who very much disliked her brother. I changed her to make her more surly towards Ranma during the initial stage of Part One (although not too much of a change. She may dislike Ranma, but she's not out for blood).  
  
All in all, it feels very solid now. Any more suggestions will be accepted, although I think we've just about done all we can to this part. ^_^  
  
And I have finally added a title to this part. (I never title the sections until I feel they're complete.) Part One - "Ground Zero" (Other title suggestions welcomed)  
  
(4/4/96):  
  
  
Began an update of certain sections of the story. I was trying to pay particular attention to the details of the sparring between Ranko and Ranma, and their discussion as Ranma told her everything he felt was important. I finally included a scene that I'd been meaning to add since the first beta release of part one, with Ranko telling Ranma about some of the fighting that went on between the two in the 'past.' I also expanded other scenes in general, trying to make them more palatable.  
  
I feel that I'm now ninety percent done on this one. I'm not sure what kind of C&C I'll get, but it'll sure be appreciated. Reader's participation is what has helped to make this story flourish. I thank you all for your work, especially the editor's continuum. They've suffered through excess postings of my story, and can probably recite the dialogue by heart. ^_^;;  
  
I now jump to part two, to see what corrective measures I can work out in that one. Hopefully that one won't take me ten days like this one did... (today is 4/14/96)  
  
(4/17/96):  
  
  
I didn't get too many e-mails about problems with part one of the story. Zeitgeist and Fox-chan get the heads up thanks for pointing out grammar errors in the story and sending them to me. I corrected all the grammar stuff, but am holding off on a couple of the content-based suggestions, as they were rather subjective.  
  
Thanks for the continued support folks!  
  
(5/24/97)  
  
  
Many thanks go to Dave Eddy for the wonderful work he's done on further polishing this work. That, along with some minor corrections that I've also included, have helped to make this part come even closer to completion. I hope this is the last iteration for part one.  
  
(7/12/98)  
  
  
What the hell am I still doing working on part one?! Well, there were some plot holes that I had to patch, including stuff that made part 5 so hard to write. I'm not done revising, either. Chances are parts 2-4 will have to be worked on before I can claim victory and put part 5 out on the 'net.  
  
Also, there is a group on the 'net that has started to do audio dramatizations of fanfiction, and they've included this one in their "to-do" list. I wish them success, and hope that they find a use for my story.  
  
  
Acknowledgments:  
  
I'd like to thank Richard Beaubien first and foremost for granting me the permission to write this side-story based on his. Prior to writing this thing, he's never even heard of me. I understand that he's continuing the mother-story from which this one is based. All I have to say is, "Go for it man!" ^_^ It's been a real treat writing this thing and playing around in his dimension (so to speak). It wouldn't have been possible without his work as the base. So to him, I say Domo Arigato Gozaimashita! author bows deeply, *CLUNK* hits head on keyboard  
  
Bert Van Vliet. You're the one who gave me the writing bug bzzzzz... *smack*. Prior to picking up my first BubbleGum Zone printout, I was clueless as to the ways of writing Fanfic. What a difference a year makes. You're a good friend, and I thank you for the support. Hail SkyKnight! ^_^  
  
Izzy-chan, for the idea about the bathroom scene between Ranma and Ranko following their first day of training.  
  
Thank You yes you, the one staring at the monitor for tolerating my unusual style of writing. I'll get better, I promise ^_^   
  
  
Accountant@nabiki.com  
  
Or try the web address for Careful Destiny:  
  
http://www.nabiki.com/sstalker/rancar.htm  



	2. Chapter 2

Careful Destiny's Website: 

(please note that they censor author website links)

Double-u Double-u Double-u dot nabiki dot com slash sstalker slash rancar dot asp

THE NEXT DAY...

Morning came all too soon for Ranma Saotome. It seemed like only a few moments ago that he'd finally managed to lull himself to sleep. After several hours of tossing and turning, his exhaustion had overwhelmed his hyperactive mind and forced him to fall asleep. But even in sleep, the days events had tormented him, banishing all hopes of a restful night.

His short-lived slumber had been plagued with dreams of his past and present mingled together in an odd duet. At the moment, however, Ranma could only recall fuzzy snippets of some of the dreams. The ones that had remained with him weren't ones that he'd particularly enjoyed, like the one where he was fighting in front of the dojo again. After being defeated by Kuno, a white-hot flash of anger shot through him as he watched Akane lift her head up to kiss his opponent passionately on the lips, saying, "Come on lover, leave that little girl alone. We'll be late for school!"

Ranma had watched helplessly from the pile of garbage, then looked down in shock as he saw that he was sporting breasts. He screamed in anguish; the curse had caught up with him. The violence of his reaction caused him to shake himself awake and fall out of his bed in the process.

Later in the evening, another more intense dream struck, frightening Ranma more than angering him. He dreamt that he had defeated Kuno in battle for Akane's hand, only to have Mr. Tendo step up and pull Akane away from him. "You deserve this for what your family did to me all those years ago," he remembered Soun saying. "As long as I live, you will never be with Akane!" he'd shouted as he dragged her away. He had bolted awake in his bed immediately after that, shouting 'No!' and reaching his hand out to grab her, only to grab air.

He swore viciously at the sun as it continued to rise in the sky, peeking in through his bedroom window and bathing him in its life-giving light. He brought one of his hands up to block the glare from his eyes, then moved his head slightly so that he could avoid the light altogether. He doubted that he'd be able to get back to sleep again, and knew that he was going to feel like crap for the rest of the day.

As he lay there tanning in the sun, he wondered briefly if he should postpone the challenge until tomorrow. But he quickly struck that idea down, knowing that he wouldn't be able to sleep at all until he settled the score with Kuno once and for all and freed Akane from that damned arrangement.

Sighing tiredly, he squinted to bring his tired eyes into focus so he could read the clock. He groaned when he saw that he still had an hour before he would have to get up. Unable to sleep any more, and tired of fighting the nightmares, he dragged himself to a sitting position with his feet dangling over the side of his bed.

Forcing himself to stand, Ranma shambled over to the small mirror hanging on the wall opposite his window. He groaned as he saw the exhausted visage of himself staring blankly back at him from the reflective surface. 'Boy, what a handsome face,' he thought dourly as he ran his fingers through his tangled hair. Stifling a yawn, he rubbed the last remnants of fatigue from his eyes, then frowned as he caught a whiff of himself. 'Whew! Man I stink,' he thought with a grimace. Looking at the clock again, he saw he had some time to spare, so he grabbed his towel and walked to the bath.

As Ranma sat down and scrubbed away the sweat from his nightmares, his mind pondered the meaning behind the dreams he'd had over the course of the night. He couldn't believe how hard it had hit him when he saw Akane willingly kiss Kuno on the lips, and again when Soun had guaranteed that he would never allow their engagement to happen. 'I guess I never knew before now just how much she means to me,' he thought as he brought the bucket of cold water over his head and rinsed off.

He stiffened in that instant. A latent wave of fear passed over him as the cold water cascaded down his body. He dropped the bucket from his hands and looked down at himself, expecting the worst. Ranma sighed in relief as he saw that his body wasn't protruding where it wasn't supposed to. He swore a vile oath against the curse, angry that it still held such a large influence over him. After two weeks of living with a single gender, he had hoped that the curse would simply fade from his memory. 'I guess it'll take a lot longer than two weeks to forget about it,' he concluded sullenly.

Ranma stood up from the stool and walked over to the bath. Stepping down, he immersed himself in the hot water. He reached over and flipped a switch which activated the whirlpool. He 'ahhhed' as the dancing bubbles went to work on him, relaxing both his mind and body greatly. In his relaxed state, a small voice percolated up from the back of his mind, offering a solution to his worries. 'Why not use the second wish and return to Akane that way?'

He frowned at the thought. He knew damn good and well why he hadn't used the wish. 'If I use that second wish to go back, then I'll be cursed again. I don't want to go through all of that.' He had to admit that problems with Akane aside, he'd had a very restful two weeks. And while he may have occasionally felt a pang of regret or sorrow at losing Ukyou's or Shampoo's interests, he felt that having a complete family more than made up for it. 'Besides,' he told himself, 'they may show up one day...' 'Although not too soon...' he was quick to add.

Ranma nodded to himself as he reclined further in the oversized tub. He knew that it would take a hell of a lot to force him to wish himself out of here. Besides, he wasn't about to run out on a fight. Especially when that fight was with Kuno. That simply wasn't in his nature. 'I'll prove to everyone that Kuno's nothing more than a bunch of hot air,' he vowed silently, his words adding to his faltering confidence.

He emerged from the bathroom several minutes later, and dashed quickly back to his room to dress. He felt refreshed and a bit less anxious after the whirlpool had been allowed to work its magic on his tense body. He closed the door to his room and toweled himself dry, then pulled out another in his growing set of Chinese outfits and laid it on his bed.

Although it never left his mind that today was important to him, he figured that he'd have a heart attack by noon if he didn't take a more casual approach to this fight. With that in mind, he focused on trying to calm himself down.

He knew that those dreams were a by-product of fear, but during the bath he realized that they also served as source of inspiration for him, and he tried to use them to that end. That alone helped to calm his ragged nerves somewhat. He felt his confidence and determination slowly building within him. So why was he still feeling anxious?

He nodded to himself a moment later, realizing what it was. In the space of one night he had gone from being an unimportant sulking boy, in the eyes of his parents at least, to being a skilled martial artist with a promising future ahead of him. That uncertain future was at the very heart of his concern, and was continuing to fuel his tension. His mind reeled with all of the possibilities that were available to him; should he defeat Kuno, that is.

He knew that his and Akane's future, along with that of the entire Tendo and Saotome families, were on the line. The dreams that had visited him last night pointed out to him exactly what would happen should he fight Kuno and lose. The more he dwelled on it, the more Ranma knew that he had to win. He also knew that Akane's life was as much on the line as his. He felt sure that she would rather die than continue to live as Kuno's puppet, and he wasn't sure he could live with himself if he failed to get her away from that idiot.

It seemed like such an awesome responsibility, he thought briefly, but brushed away the thought, clenching his fists in a show of self-determination and assuring himself that he wouldn't lose this chance to be with Akane. Feeling hungry, he wasted no time in putting on his clothes and heading downstairs to the breakfast table.

Descending the steps quietly, he could hear his mother humming to herself as she prepared breakfast. He took his place at the table and closed his eyes, breathing deeply to keep himself calm. A smile slowly crept its way across his face as he inhaled, his nose detecting the wonderful aroma of his mother's culinary skills. The smell of a good morning breakfast wafting from the kitchen called to him, stirring deep rumblings of hunger from his belly.

At that moment Ranko bounded down the stairs, her raven pigtailed hair flopping against her back with every step. She paused at the bottom of the steps, surprised at seeing her brother sitting at the table. Part of what surprised her was that he was sitting there with his eyes closed and a smile on his face. 'That's odd,' she thought to herself. 'He's just sitting there like a statue. I guess he's really concerned about the fight today...' she thought absently.

But even understanding why he was acting like this didn't dampen her surprise any. Up to this point Ranma had been keeping up a lazy son image, partly by getting up just in the nick of time for school every day. But with everything that had happened over the last twelve hours, Ranko guessed that he was ready to drop the facade and act like the martial artist he seemed destined to be. Without making a sound, she walked around the room and took her place adjacent to her brother at the table.

He jumped in nervous surprise and his eyes snapped open as Ranko's leg made contact with his arm. He turned to look at her as she sat next to him and favored him with an encouraging smile.

"You ready for the big showdown, bro?" she asked in a low voice, nudging him with her hip.

He gave her a grim look. "I guess I'll have to be, Sis. I wasn't able to sleep all that well last night."

She continued to smile pleasantly at him, hoping to take the hard edge off of her brother's worry. "Ahh, you'll be okay bro. I have faith in you. All you need to do is remember your training," she said as she patted him on the back.

He was about to thank her and give her a hug when Nodoka walked in with breakfast. She seemed pleasantly surprised to see both children at the table ahead of time. "My, you're both up early! You two have something planned today?" she asked as she sat the food down on the table.

Ranko looked at her brother as she took her bowl of miso soup into her hands. "Naah, I don't have anything special goin' on today," she said before taking a sip of the soup and putting the bowl back on the table. "But Ranma's challenging Kuno for Akane, and I wanna make sure I'm there to see that!" She picked up another bowl and stuffed some rice in her mouth, smiling at her brother as she swallowed.

Nodoka's eyes widened slightly, and she leveled her gaze at her son. He coughed slightly, seeing her reaction, and forced his half-chewed food down his throat before he choked. "Ranma! I can't believe that you're actually going to go through with that fight!" She put her hands to her head to try and ward off a headache. "Why today?" 'Why at all?' she added to herself.

He took a moment to consider his response before speaking. He didn't want to get his mother any angrier at him than she already appeared to be. Calmly he put his bowl on the table and adopted a neutral look. "Yes Mom, I decided that I'm going to take care of it today," he said simply. He winced internally as he realized that he'd made a mistake.

The color in Nodoka's face drained away at hearing her son's words on the matter. "Ranma!" she declared in a scolding voice. "I can't believe how cavalierly you're taking this whole matter. You make it sound like you're going for groceries instead of facing off against someone who could possibly hurt you!"

He shook his head, berating himself for acting so distant to a woman he'd truly known for only a couple of weeks. "Sorry Mom, I didn't mean for that to sound as bad as it did." He paused, trying to find the right way to tell her what he was thinking. "What else can I say, Mom? It's something that I have to do," he finished simply, then resumed eating.

'That's it! He has to do it, no questions asked?' Nodoka looked at the stony expression on Ranma's face and groaned, resigning herself to the inevitable. "Alright. You listen to me, son. If things get out of hand, I want you or your sister to come get your father or me. Immediately!" she shouted, punctuating the last word by poking him in the shoulder with her index finger. "There's no telling what that Kuno character is capable of doing to you. I don't want you taking any unnecessary risks, you understand me?"

Ranma nodded his assent, but said nothing further. Ranko, on the other hand, spoke up in her brother's defense. "Mom, you saw what he did last night. You also heard how he did with Mr. Tendo. I'd think that you'd have a bit more confidence in him."

Nodoka looked stricken as Ranko's words hit home. Her face lost some of its anger, but none of its concern as she considered what her daughter said. 'I guess you're right dear,' she thought to herself. 'But this is such a drastic change. It's just so hard to see my son as a fighter.' She sighed, forcing herself to accept this new change in her son. Despite herself, her gaze softened, and she reached out to stroke her son's face. "You know, you're starting to remind me of your father when he and I were dating," she said as she smiled, a nostalgic look coming over her face. "He was always ready to come to my rescue. Even when it wasn't necessary."

Ranma breathed a sigh of relief, feeling better knowing that she wasn't going to try to stop him. Eager to get the fight with Kuno out of the way, he quickly finished off his breakfast. Standing from the table, he grabbed Ranko's hand and dragged her with him. "Good luck, dear," Nodoka called out to the whirlwind Saotome siblings as the door closed behind them.

"Hey Ranma! Slow down, willya?" Ranko yelled as Ranma blasted down the street towards the school.

Nodoka chuckled slightly at hearing her daughter's fading protest, then turned to clean the table. 'I hope he makes it through the day okay,' she thought hopefully. A frown crossed her face as she considered again what he was facing. 'That Kuno boy better hope that my son isn't hurt or...' she paused the thought, her eyes regarding the katana that hung on a nearby wall. '... or else he and I will have words,' she vowed severely.

center/center

Ranma knew that his sister didn't like to be dragged about, and released her hand to run on ahead of her. He didn't have to look over his shoulder, though, to know that she was right behind him. He rounded a curve and saw the gates of Furinkan High looming in the distance. He pushed himself, hoping to get to the school ahead of Kuno and Akane.

But as he neared the school, he noticed a black limousine drive up to the gates, and swore viciously. 'No! I won't miss this opportunity,' he thought in a rush as he poured on the speed. He watched in frustration as Kuno and Akane exited the vehicle, and turned towards the school. Ranma redoubled his pace, hoping to catch them before they went inside the school, leaving Ranko in the dust.

center/center

Tatewaki Kuno held his hand out to Akane. Unwilling at first, she gradually reached her own hand out and accepted his as she stepped out of the vehicle. She looked pale and withdrawn, which is how she'd been almost since the day Kuno and she began dating formally. A part of her knew that she hadn't always been this downcast, but she couldn't remember the last time recently when she enjoyed getting up in the morning. It had been too long for her to recall.

When she had first accepted the proposed joining between herself and Kuno, she'd vowed to try and make the relationship work, more for her father than for her own sake. During that early time, she had tried to find something likable about Kuno. But try as she might, she just couldn't do it.

He had been really sweet to her when he was chasing after her as at the beginning of the school year. But now that she had accepted him as her boyfriend, his interest in her evaporated. She had become a trophy of sorts for Kuno. He would posture in front of other guys on campus, and show her off as if she were a prize instead of a loved one. She felt like she was something only slightly more than a revered pet to him. Akane really hated the way he was treating her, but she couldn't think of any way to change things, at least nothing that would keep her or her family out of jail.

With a sigh she stood away from the departing limousine. She turned around to look at the cityscape when something caught her eye. She tugged on Kuno's hand, pointing at what she saw. "Kuno-chan," Akane said by reflex, "what's that?"

As the thing in question drew nearer, it looked more and more like a miniature dust storm approaching the school. Several people were being drawn to the gates by the disturbance. A combination of "oohs!" and "ahhs!" issued from the crowd as they watched.

Someone in the crowd pointed and yelled, "Hey, look! It's some guy! Looks like he's really hauling butt too!" That brought a lot more people out, causing the crowd to spill into the street. Akane squinted, trying to make out who it was. It took her a couple of seconds before she could see the person clearly, and she gasped when she finally recognized who it was. 'It's that guy who insulted Kuno in front of the dojo a couple of weeks ago! Looks like he's really angry about something.' The approaching figure began shouting, prompting more heads to turn.

"KUUUUUUUUUUNNOOOOOOOOOOO!" it was heard to scream once it was close enough to be understood.

Someone in the crowd gasped in realization. "Waitaminute! That's sounded like Ranma!"

Another turned to the first in shock. "Ranma Saotome? No WAY!" The stunned pair turned back to watch as he blasted towards the campus.

Kuno turned at the sound of his name, but tried to feign disinterest. He felt that a display of wonderment was beneath him, so he merely watched as Ranma approached.

Seeing his target directly ahead, Ranma slowed himself, not wanting to fly past his opponent. He also didn't want to become one with the school gates. He came to a halt two feet in front of Kuno, breathing only slightly harder than normal. "Kuno, I challenge you!" he yelled, insuring that the whole crowd heard him.  
"You would challenge me?" Kuno scoffed at Ranma, pointing his bokken at him. "You? Surely you jest!" He threw a withering gaze at his opponent, trying to dull Ranma's passion and humble him. It didn't work. "And for what reason should I fight a creature as unworthy as you?" Kuno laughed humorlessly through his nose, openly mocking Ranma's brashness.

Ranma stared directly at him, confidence burning in him like an iron furnace. Defiantly he held his ground in the wake of Kuno's arrogance, pointing at him as if he were a wanted man (which he was). "I know for a fact that if you are defeated in combat you will release Akane Tendo from her engagement. That's why I'm challenging you, so LET'S FIGHT!" he bellowed.

Author's Notes

**Please read this as it is quite important**

Major changes had to be made to my fanfiction dot net submission based on the increasingly restrictive policies that have been enacted by that organization. That being the case, what you see above consists of the total 'allowable' text for my story, as the rest would fall into one questionable category or another.

This being the case, I have had to delete parts two, four, and five from fanfiction dot net and restructure what was left as a single entry. (Part three, if you're wondering, had been purged from fanfiction dot net's system with no prior notice almost four years ago) To keep the management of this establishment happy, I have placed the 'questionable' material on my website.

(please note that they censor author website links, however a simple phonetic reading of the line below should yield what you seek)

Double-u Double-u Double-u dot nabiki dot com slash sstalker slash rancar dot asp

Careful Destiny Parts One through Seven (unexpurgated/uncensored) reside there. Furthermore, any new parts for Careful Destiny will also be posted to my website to avoid ruffling any more feathers here. Part Seven was posted to the CD website on 8/21/05 and is available in text, MS Word and HTML formats.

I thank all of the readers for their interest and their patience, strained as it likely is.

One other note: To anyone who may want to post a review of Careful Destiny on fanfiction dot net's site, please refrain from doing so. I have comment sheets on Careful Destiny's home website that will serve the same purpose and will avoid placing any undue burden on fanfiction dot net's systems, so please post your C&C on Careful Destiny's website.

Thank you for your understanding in this matter.  
Todd Hill a.k.a Lorien (on irc dot nabiki dot com - #fanfic )  
Author, Ranma 1/2 - Careful Destiny and Urusei Yatsura: The Prince and the Lecher


End file.
